


Nightmare

by Jessiebulby



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, For anyone confused with the taggs, Happy Ending, Langst, M/M, Multiple endings :), Pain, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sad Ending, Suicide, Triggers, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-04-24 17:40:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14360361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessiebulby/pseuds/Jessiebulby
Summary: “I should probably remind you that your bursary is in my hands now,” Iverson told him, waiting a few seconds for the words to sink in. “Take off your shirt.”Lance was shaking now. This was really bad. But he needed the bursary. If it was just his shirt…orLance and Hunk get caught while trying to go out to the next town. Lance's punishment might be more than he can handle. On the other side, Keith is back to school.





	1. Caught

**Author's Note:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> I wanted to try writing something dark, and I didn't know if I'd ever publish that, but oh well, there you go! 
> 
> Trigger warning: rape/non-con, suicide  
> (Please don't read if you're sensible to that kind of content) 
> 
> Please leave Kudos and Comments if you like it!  
> Tumblr : Prettygoo-d

“You really pissed him off this time, Lance. I think he’ll murder you. I don’t want you to die, buddy!” Hunk complained, talking louder and louder.

“Calm down, Hunk. We’ll probably just have another extra assignment or detention,” Lance said.

“Why do I always end up in situations like these with you?” Hunk continued.

“Because you’re my partner in crime!” Lance replied with a big proud smile.

“Yeah, Ok, but I’d really prefer if we didn’t add the “crime” part,” Hunk told him.

They were both sitting in Iverson’s office, waiting for said man to join them, reprimand them and, finally, decide what they’ll have to do to make it up. Lance had wanted to go out of the Garrison’s property to go to the next town and hang out with other teenagers there. Obviously, Hunk _had_ to come along, even if the big guy had tried to change his friend’s mind. Unfortunately, they had been caught before even getting out of here. Iverson was starting to know them a bit too much.

“Now, Cadets, this has gone too far!” Iverson’s loud angry voice resounded as he arrived in his small office.

The big man started his long boring lecture. Telling them, Lance especially, that they were failures and that this kind of behaviour was unacceptable. Lance knew the man’s speech too well now. The words still hurt, but Lance could sometimes tuned them out.

“Now, for your punishment. Mr. Garett, you will work in the kitchen during lunch for the next 2 weeks, even on weekends this time,” Iverson decided.

That wasn’t so bad of a punishment for Hunk who loved working in the kitchen, but still Lance felt Hunk’s angry glare on him.

“As for you, Mr. McClain, you will be working as my personal assistant for the next two weeks, excluding class time. I expect you to be at my office every morning at 7 am until the end of day at 7 pm,” Iverson decided.

“What? No way! This is abuse!” Lance complained.

“If I were you, I’d accept my punishment silently, Mr. McClain. Your mischief has gone too far. If you cause any more trouble, your bursary will be revoked,” Iverson explained, making Lance’s heart beat faster and louder.

Lance knew he was a bit of a troublemaker, but he never thought they would come to revoke his bursary. He had worked so hard to get it. If he lost it, he would have to say goodbye to his dream of becoming a pilot.

“Understood, Sir,” he accepted, his fearful expression to the ground.

There was no sound in the office for a long moment.

“You are dismissed,” Iverson said then.

Lance stood up, did the usual military salutation and left without a word, Hunk following him soon after.

“Hey, buddy, are you Ok? That was really harsh from Iverson…” Hunk said.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t think they could revoke my bursary, especially if my grades are good. I guess I should really stop fooling around,” Lance said with a small smile.

“At least you got a warning, contrarily to Keith who got exp…” Hunk started.

“Don’t you dare compare me to Mullet-man! The guy is violent, he made Iverson blind from one eye!” Lance shouted.

Hunk made him signs to lower his voice, which didn’t do anything in the end.

“Ok, no comparison to Keith, understood,” Hunk said.

There was silence for a moment as they walked towards their room.

“He’s coming back soon though, right? Really, he’s lucky to have someone like Shiro to have his back,” Lance said.

“Yeah, I think he’ll be back in a few days or so. He’s always alone, maybe we should go talk to him and try to be…” Hunk started.

“Don’t say it Hunk. Don’t say ‘friends’. No mullet in our group of friends,” Lance said, decisive.

“Damn… What did he do to you?” Hunk asked, a bit concerned.

They turned to the left into the student rooms’ hallway.

“Yeah, you got pretty strong emotions for him,” Pidge teased Lance, making the two boys screech in terror. They hadn’t noticed their little friend sitting on the ground and covered by a dark blanket.

Lance, angry at the young girl, took off the blanket from on top of her. She had better signal on her homemade computer in the hallway, so she did that sometimes. She was still tapping on her keypad, but had a devil smile on her lips, proud to have surprised the two teenagers.

“You little gremlin, don’t scare us like that!” Lance shouted.

Hunk was about to say something when Iverson’s voice resounded in the hallways.

“Cadets! To your rooms now!” he yelled.

It was enough for the three of them to run to their rooms and get prepared to go to bed right away. It didn’t take long for Hunk, with whom Lance shared a room, to fall asleep after that. Lance did his usual skin care routine, and lied on his bed for a while, thinking. Pidge’s words kept repeating in his mind. Yeah, maybe he didn’t really hate Keith. The guy was just too perfect, well except for his hotheadedness, and even that part of him could be endearing sometimes… He felt his face become suddenly really hot.

What? What was he thinking now? Keith’s hotheadedness being endearing? He was probably too tired, couldn’t think straight anymore…

He laughed internally at his own pun.

But honestly, what was really on his mind was his bursary. He couldn’t afford to lose it. He couldn’t disappoint his parents. They had been so supportive, he wanted to make them proud. He couldn’t fail them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> I know this chapter is really small, but expect pain in the next chapters. There will also be fluff and romance. 
> 
> I'll also try to post a chapter at least once a week! (probably on Saturdays)


	2. Partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> School projects can be a good way to make new friends! 
> 
> Things are still calm for this chapter, but I assure you that the worst has yet to come :)
> 
> Please leave Kudos and Comments!   
> You can also send me asks/follow me on Tumblr : Prettygoo-d
> 
> Thanks!!

Lance was running, already out of breath. Was Iverson’s office that far?

“No running in the hallways, Mr. McClain!” One of the teachers said.

“Sorry, Mr. Stevens!” Lance said as he slowed down a bit until the teacher was out of sight.

He started running again. He woke up late. He had made the mistake to snooze too many times. He had only one minute left to get to Iverson’s office. He really didn’t want to have his punishment worsened or his bursary revoked for arriving late. Just as the time on his phone changed, he reached Iverson’s office. He was out of breath, but he was there.

“I’m here!” Lance wheezed.

“I can see that. Did you run to get there?” Iverson asked, voice serious.

“No, of course not. You know, it’s prohibited to run in the hallways,” Lance said placing his clothes and trying to control his breathing.

Iverson inspected him for a few moments, obviously not believing a word Lance said. Then, the older man stood up, holding a big pile of papers. He handed it to Lance who took it and almost dropped it, not expecting it to be so heavy.

“Carry this and don’t drop it. I need to take these papers to another office on the other side of the building,” Iverson told him.

Lance knew this was only the beginning of these next two awful weeks. Maybe he would really think twice next time before doing something unauthorized. But, really, why was it so bad to get out of the Garrison once in a while to have some fun?

Anyway, it was awful and humiliating to follow the man all day. For the first time in his life, Lance enjoyed going to class. The man was making him carry all his stuff and really enjoyed bossing the young man around.

The first day wasn’t so bad though. Iverson was just making sure that Lance really learned not to be disobedient again. Lance understood that. When he got back to his room that night, he still complained about his punishment being the worst to his friends. They listened with half an ear. They expected him to react this way, and he expected them not to listen to his whining completely. That was how their little trio was. He did the same when they went on over their science projects.

—

However, the next day of his punishment was different. At some point during the day, when Lance and Iverson got back to the older man’s office, Iverson just voluntarily dropped his pencil to the ground and demanded that Lance pick it up. Lance had refused, obviously. But then…

“You wouldn’t want to lose that bursary, would you?” Iverson said and a chill ran down Lance’s back.

This was clear manipulation right there. Iverson was threatening Lance. And the Cuban boy just didn’t feel comfortable with this whole situation.

Lance didn’t say a word and reluctantly picked up the pencil from the ground.

When he got back to his room later that day, Lance complained even more to Pidge and Hunk. This time, he really reached the limit of their patience. After a while, they told him that he had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Lance brooded after that for a few long minutes before Pidge decided to cheer him up by playing video games. He was glad that he had such good friends, even if they thought he was exaggerating about Iverson.

—

The next day, Lance was sitting in class, ready for first period. It was physics, his only problematic course, even with Hunk and Pidge’s teachings. Well, Pidge wasn’t helpful at all. When she tried to explain things to him, it felt like she was speaking a completely different language. Hunk was a better teacher, but Lance just really didn’t understand much about physics. The worst part was that neither Hunk and Pidge had physics at the same time as him. He couldn’t even hope to improve his grade with teamwork. So no friend and awful grades.

And just to make it worse, who entered the classroom just as the bell rung? Keith Kogane.

Lance cursed internally, thinking that the universe must be enjoying putting him through unpleasant situations. Well, at least he didn’t have to talk to him, and Keith would probably sit at the other side of the classroom…

And then, as if it was all planned, Keith sat just beside him. Lance looked around and understood why right away, it was the only place left. This was ridiculous.

“Silence everyone! I’ll explain right away the next team project you’ll have to do, and I won’t be lenient if you don’t get all the information because you’re talking!” The teacher announced.

The classroom fell completely silent. Everyone needed to have the best grade they could.

“It’s a team work of 20 pages on a subject of your choice that has to do with the content we have seen in class in the course of the past three weeks. The important chapters in which you can get inspiration are the ones listed on the board. Please write them in your agenda or a notebook, because I will erase them at the end of the class. The teams must be of 2 maximum. Choose your teammate now and come to my desk so I can write your names down. I give you 10 minutes, no more,” the teacher announced.

 Lance looked around. Everyone was already choosing their partner. Lance was doomed. But then, his eyes fell on Keith who hadn’t moved an inch. Poor guy, he was even more hopeless than him. Lance realized then what that meant. Keith was his only chance to not look like a complete reject. But the guy had missed a whole week, and Lance already struggled with his grades. Keith was an awesome pilot, not that Lance would ever tell that to anyone, but when it came to classes, he was always falling behind. This would be a disaster. Lance cursed at the universe. It obviously hated him now.

Still Lance really didn’t want to stand out as the reject and forcefully put in a team with Keith. He liked to look on top of his game.

“Hey, Keith, I see that you are in need of a teammate, and the generous soul that I am accepts to be your partner,” Lance said, confident.

“No,” Keith answered simply.

“What? Dude, we need to form teams of two, and you know how Ms. Ozel is. She’ll put us together anyway. Better make a move before her,” Lance explained.

Keith sighed, visibly annoyed.

“Alright, but we’ll probably fail,” Keith said.

“I’m best friends with two physics genius, we’re gonna be fine… probably,” Lance said, standing up and going to Ms. Ozel’s desk to give her their name.

That went smoother than he expected.

—

“This is stupid, we can’t choose that you dumbass, she’ll fail us just for the subject we chose!” Keith yelled.

“But it’s the easiest of all the ones I found!” Lance replied.

“What else did you find?” Keith asked.

There was silence for a long moment.

“You didn’t even find anything else?!” Keith yelled.

“Oh and what did you find?” Lance asked, insulted.

Silence again as Keith stared away, brooding.

“You’re no better than me!” Lance yelled.

“What’s all this racket?” Hunk asked as he entered their room.

He was instantly surprised to see Keith there, alone with Lance in their room.

“No comment, Hunk,” Lance said instantly. “We have a team project to do for Ms. Ozel, but we can’t agree on a subject,” Lance said.

“Ok, I’ll help you. What are the choices you have found so far?” Hunk asked.

Lance handed him a sheet with a single subject written on it. Hunk sighed and took Keith’s textbook from his hands. He went through the pages quickly and then gave the textbook back to Keith opened on a specific page.

“There, do your research on that. It shouldn’t be too hard for you two, and Ms. Oxel will surely appreciate it,” Hunk said.

Lance and Keith looked at said subject. It was perfect, indeed.

“Thank you, big guy!” Lance said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Keith approved. “By the way, I’m Keith.”

“Oh, yeah, I know you. In fact, the entire school knows about you. Is it true that you’re the one who made Iverson blind from one eye?” Hunk asked.

“Yeah,” Keith said.

Lance noticed Keith’s expression darkening for a second. “You should hang out with us once in a while,” Hunk offered.

Lance turned his gaze to Hunk, unhappy. What was his best friend doing? He had been clear, no? No Mullet allowed in their group of friends.

“Ok, thanks,” Keith replied with a small smile.

Oh my… What was that smile? Why… Why did it make Lance feel happy too? Maybe he was sick or something…

“Anyway, I’ll go to Pidge’s, so you two enjoy doing your project!” Hunk said before leaving.

“Ok, let’s split up the work,” Lance said.

—

The next day was again relatively normal, Iverson was too busy to be creepy, so that was good in a way, but also awful because Lance had to work even more to help Iverson. Still, more work over creepiness was better in his mind. At the end of the day, he met Keith at Pidge’s room. Hunk was there too, and him and Pidge were helping Keith with homework from other classes. The guy had a lot of work to do to get back to the other students’ level. He didn’t expect Hunk and Pidge to help him though, but he guessed that they were probably the best student he could get to help him. As soon as Lance got there, Keith left his other homework to work on their physics project. It was going well so far. They were working faster than he expected. Sometimes they bickered, but Hunk would then step in to figure out who was right. So far it was 50/50, which was good for Lance’s ego.

When they walked back to their respective rooms, Keith stopped suddenly.

“Thank you, really, for your help, I appreciate it,” Keith said.

Hunk and Keith were taken aback for a moment. They could see that it was hard to show gratefulness. They didn’t know exactly why, but they were happy that he had thanked them, especially Lance. Why was he so happy that Keith was thanking him? It made him confused. Maybe he had been scared when he had asked Keith to be his teammate. Maybe he feared being rejected by him completely. He almost thought it would happen when he had said “No” at first. But now Lance realized that Keith didn’t really want to reject him. Maybe he was like Lance, he was scared of rejection. Lance would never admit it, but this fear might have been the main reason why he hated Keith at first. To Lance, Keith was too perfect, and… and he didn’t deserve to be friends with perfect people. He had to fight against them, take them for rivals to push him past his limits.

But Keith was like them. He had flaws and he could smile and laugh… and that new vision of him changed something in Lance. He didn’t really hate Keith.

—

“I’ve noticed that you spend more time after school with Mr. Kogane,” Iverson said as Lance transported the teacher’s heavy material to his office.

“Yeah?” Lance replied.

“I’d advise you to stay away from him. He has anger issues and might become dangerous when he loses control,” Iverson explained.

Lance could only think of Keith’s smile at Iverson’s words. Yeah, Keith could be broody and was definitely the loner amongst their friends, but he wasn’t so bad. Ok, Lance still didn’t know much about Keith, but even before Keith was expelled, not once Lance had seen him become violent with another student or teacher. He had seen him angry against his grades, and the simulator, but that was normal, other students had been angry like that too at least once.

So, Lance didn’t care about Iverson’s words. And, again, the universe liked to put him into awkward situations. Keith passed by them. Lance felt Iverson’s hand on his lower back, and he noticed how Keith and Iverson shared a long angry look. Only… Iverson’s smile was really scary. Lance felt really uncomfortable, but he had too many books in his hands to do anything really.

Once Keith was out of sight, Iverson removed his hand, and they resumed their way normally.

That was really weird.

—

“Did you just… No! No way! I was so close! You cheated, there’s no way!” Lance complained as Keith won again.

“Yeah!” Keith screamed happily.

“Dude, what’s happening to you? You’re usually pretty good at that game,” Pidge said.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, I’m going to beat his ass next time,” Lance said as he stood up and started to walk to the door.

“I’m gonna go now, I still have to be at Mr. Creepy’s office at 7 tomorrow morning. This is a real pain. Can’t wait for it to be over,” Lance announced.

“Mr. Creepy?” Keith asked, confused.

“Iverson,” Hunk replied.

Keith stood up then, and before he could ask, Pidge gave him the full explanation.

“So that’s why you were with him earlier,” Keith said.

“Good night, guys,” Lance told them as he exited the room.

“I’ll go with you, I gotta wake up early tomorrow too,” Keith said as he followed Lance.

Hunk, Pidge and Lance found his behaviour weird but didn’t comment on it. Lance had to admit it, the past few days working with Keith on their physics project and spending time with Hunk and Pidge when they needed a break… It had been nice. He really wasn’t that annoying and that perfect either. He was a normal guy, with his strengths and weaknesses. He was still a bit emo and all, but he was good company. Lance really enjoyed Keith’s presence now.

And there was his smile. Lance liked to see Keith’s smile, it was always small, but so bright, like a light in the darkness.

 _Go away, gay thoughts!_ Lance shouted internally.

“Be careful with Iverson,” Keith said then, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

“What? Why?” Lance asked, confused.

Yeah, the man was creepy, but sometimes people were like that. Iverson hadn’t done anything that could look dangerous or concerning so far…

“I blinded him because I needed to, not because I’m a psychopath or whatever rumour you heard,” Keith added.

“Ok, I’ll be careful,” Lance agreed, a bit troubled by Keith’s advice.

Keith smiled a bit again and they both separated to get to their own rooms. This was bad… Why did his heart beat so fast now when Keith smiled at him?

_Ugh, this is getting out of control._


	3. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> This chapter has a lot of romance in it. I didn't plan to put so much romance in this fic at first, but now it'll have a huge impact in the next chapters. 
> 
> Iverson gets creepier again... Slowly but surely we'll get to the truly horrible parts of this story. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Please leave Kudos and Comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!

The next morning, Iverson made Lance do boring stuff, like placing the students’ papers in alphabetic order and organizing his folders in the filling cabinet. What was really annoying was Iverson’s insisting gaze.

“Don’t you have other stuff to do than watch me, Sir?” Lance asked after a while.

“Can’t help but enjoy seeing you follow my orders for once, Mr. McClain,” Iverson replied with a small smile. Lance felt a chill ran down his back. “You really care about your bursary, I can see that.”

“Obviously,” Lance replied, getting back to work.

“I wonder how much you really care,” Iverson added, standing up.

Lance continued his work. Iverson was really disturbing right now. Not that he wasn’t always a bit nasty, but that was something else. And Lance surely didn’t want to keep talking to him when he was in super-creepy mode. Just as he was done with the folders, a hand wrapped around his wrist.

“What the…?” Lance started.

And then another hand slammed against the filing cabinet in front of him. Lance’s heart was beating fast in his chest and his mind screamed danger. He felt Iverson’s hot breath against his neck. He was close, too close. Lance’s natural instincts were screaming at him to get away from this man. Like, now. But he was so shocked he couldn’t move.

“There are rumors regarding you, Mr. McClain,” Iverson said in a low voice.

“W-what rumors?” Lance stammered.

He wanted out. He wanted to run as far away as possible from Iverson.

“Is it true that…” Iverson started but his voice was cut off by the bell. Iverson backed away, letting go of Lance’s wrist. “Oh well, I expect to see you again after class, Mr. McClain.”

Lance instantly took his things and almost ran out of the office. Once in class, he sat next to Hunk, but his mind was still in shock, still in Iverson’s office. He didn’t want to see the man again. He didn’t want to be left alone with him. He... He was scared.

“Hey, man, are you OK?” hunk asked, concerned.

Lance realized just then that he hadn’t even greeted his best friend and that he had been staring at his desk since he got to class.

“It’s just… Iverson has been acting super weird, “ he admitted.

“Complaining about Iverson again?” Pidge said as she sat at her place in front of Lance. “What has he done this time?”

“He grabbed my wrist…” Lance started but couldn’t seem to continue.

Hunk and Pidge laughed at him right away. Lance remained silent, feeling still scared and also hurt by his friends’ reaction.

He couldn’t say more. He felt ashamed, like he should have done something somehow. If the bell wouldn’t have rung, what would have happened? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, honestly. Keith arrived in the classroom a few seconds later and sat in front of Hunk. He asked them what was so funny, and they barely had time to answer before the teacher started the class.  

Lance noticed how Keith’s eyes lingered on him. Lance was lost in thoughts the whole class, only going back to reality when the bell rung again. He cursed internally. He really didn’t want to face Iverson again. As he was exiting the classroom, a hand wrapped around his wrist again. Lance’s reaction was instantaneous, yanking his arm away from whoever’s grip it was. When he turned around, he saw Keith with a surprised look on his face. The surprise soon changed to anger and Lance expected the other boy to either kill him on the spot or go away to brood in his lonely corner. But Keith did neither of those.

“Don’t go back to Iverson’s office,” he said simply.

“What?” Lance asked, troubled.

“I’ll talk with Shiro, he’ll do something about your sanction or whatever situation you’re in,” Keith insisted, still looking angry, but also determined.

“Why?” Lance asked, Keith’s reaction was confusing him.

Keith was about to answer when a loud voice resounded in the hallway.

“Mr. McClain! You are still under disciplinary action,” Iverson reminded him.

“Yes, Sir,” Lance said, looking at Keith one last time.

Keith looked angrier, eyes fixed on Iverson.

“Mr. Kogane,” Iverson greeted him.

Lance walked away with Iverson. At least, the rest of the day was normal. Iverson didn’t do anything creepy again during breaks. For a while, Lance thought that maybe he had imagined it or that things weren’t really as weird as he thought they were.

 

-

 

“So, have you made friends?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah…” Keith answered.

“And? Who are they?” Shiro pushed.

“They are nice… There’s Hunk who’s a big guy with good engineering and cooking skills. Lance calls him the mom-friend. And there’s Pidge…” Keith said.

“Oh, Matt’s little sister!” Shiro interrupter him. “I heard she’s a genius.”

“Yeah, she is,” Keith replied.

“And what about Lance?” Shiro asked, curious.

“He’s annoying, and loud, but he’s pretty cool too… but don’t tell him I told you that,” Keith answered.

Shiro looked at him with an amused smile. “’Pretty cool’, uh? Is he cute?”  

“What?” Keith asked, shocked by Shiro’s question.

“I’m just curious, because you seem to like him more than you show it,” Shiro replied.

“I don’t ‘like’ him! He’s just… He’s just funny and friendly, that’s all,” Keith told him.

Shiro laughed a bit. “You know, Keith… You’re deserving of love.”

Shiro’s words struck Keith’s heart. It was hard to accept them. He had been alone and rejected most of his life. He was scared of rejection now, and couldn’t open himself to others easily, but it was easy with Lance to let go of his fears. He was also scared of love. He was used to being by himself, but love meant sharing your life with someone else, and if that person decided to leave, it would hurt more.

“Anyway… The Kerberos mission is still on hold?” Keith asked.

They spent the rest of their dinner talking about other various subjects, but their conversation about Lance kept repeating itself in Keith’s mind. Weirdly, he couldn’t help but remember Lance’s bright smile too.

 

-

 

When Lance got back to his room that night, Pidge was there with Hunk, but Keith wasn’t. Lance was a bit sad at that, he couldn’t help but want to spend more time with the other boy. It was nice having him around, but their team project for Mrs. Ozel’s course was completed, so Keith had no reason to continue hanging out with them if he didn’t want to.

“You’re not talking against Iverson tonight? That’s weird,” Pidge pointed out. “Is it because you have something else on your mind? Like a certain someone?” She teased him.

“Oh, yeah, I just remember, Keith can’t come tonight because he’s having dinner with Shiro, his mentor,” Hunk said.

“Anyway, I was not thinking about Keith. Why would I think about him?” Lance replied.

“Then, what else were you thinking about?” Pidge insisted.

“Nothing!” Lance answered.

“You’re not really helping your case, buddy,” Hunk said. “Oh! I get it. I get why you said you didn’t want Keith to be your ‘friend’ a while back, that’s because you want him to be your…”

“Hunk! I stop you right here! Don’t go saying some crazy things,” Lance cut him.

“He’s shy, Hunk. Maybe he hasn’t acknowledged his feelings yet,” Pidge said.

“Pidge!” Lance shouted in an exasperated tone.

“No, but really, if there’s anything, you know you can tell us, right?” Pidge said with a small smile.

“I’m not gonna admit my feelings for Keith to you guys, you’ll make fun of me,” Lance replied before he could prevent the words from getting out of his mouth. “No… Shit, no, that’s not…”

His two friends started laughing wildly.

“Too late, buddy,” Hunk laughed.

Lance left the room, letting his friends calm down a bit. This was even more humiliating than tying Iverson’s shoes. How could he have had said that? He had just started to talk to Keith, but he knew… Even with all the denying and all the false hate, Lance knew what he felt when he looked at Keith. It wasn’t about jealousy or rivalry, it was almost… admiration.

And the universe had a funny way to play with him. As he was walking to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, because he didn’t want to go back to his room right away and face Pidge’s and Hunk’s teasing, Lance saw no other than Keith walking to the student rooms. He stopped there, looking at the other young man, walking decisively with his usual scowl as if just existing annoyed him. The guy had an emo side, obviously, and it seemed like Lance dug that. A lot.

“Hey, Keith!” Lance greeted him.

Keith’s eyes shot up right away, his features softening, making Lance feel all weird inside.

“Oh, hey, Lance… Sorry, I hadn’t noticed you,” Keith said.

“No problem, dude. Did you just get back from your dinner with Shiro? Wanna hang out?” Lance asked.

He couldn’t believe he had asked that. _Yeah, How to Prove Pidge and Hunk Are Right 101…_

“Yeah, I just got back. I was about to go train…” Keith replied, looking uncertain.

“What? This late?” Lance asked, surprised.

“We’re Friday, so we still have an hour before curfew, no?” Keith replied.

Lance realized why they were so different now. Lance was putting a lot of efforts and was passionate, but he wasn’t as dedicated as Keith. Yeah, Keith was a prodigy, like Hunk and Pidge, but he was also putting all his energy into this, even if a bit involuntarily.

“Yeah… I’ll come with you then,” Lance replied. “Well, if you don’t mind…”

“No, I don’t mind at all,” Keith answered with a smile.

Lance wanted to know how much better Keith was. He would never admit that to anybody, but that was not his main objective… there was some other underlying reason. Lance wanted to get to know Keith more. He wanted to spend time with him, and have fun, and other stuff…

 

-

 

It turned out Keith was strong, like way more than Lance would’ve guessed. He was agile and precise and quick… Lance was glad that they were fighting bots together, and not fighting against each other. He would have probably had his ass handed to him on a platter if so... There was also something mesmerizing about seeing Keith move around and destroy the bots one after the other. Not that he would ever admit any of that.

It also annoyed Lance a bit, because Keith was way better than him. Lance really had to step up his game if he ever wanted to be as good as Keith. They finished their training a bit before curfew, so they could both go take a shower. As they were walking to the showers, still a bit out of breath and sweaty because of their training, Lance spoke up.

“Hey, Keith?” 

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind helping me train like that once in a while? It was nice and I think I gotta improve my skills a bit more,” Lance asked.

“Yeah, of course, Lance,” Keith agreed.

Lance was so happy that he felt his heart speed up a bit at Keith’s answer.

Ok, it was really bad… Pidge and Hunk might be right. Maybe Keith really didn’t make him indifferent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> You can also follow me/send me an ask on tumblr : Prettygoo-d


	4. Be Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Things get real in this chapter! Keith and Lance are getting really close and Iverson's creepiness reaches its climax... 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!

To his dismay, Lance had to work for Iverson even on weekends.

During the day, Lance had been assigned to classifying files in the basement of the Garrison with one of the librarians, an old man who loved silence way too much. It was boring and it smelled down there, but at least he didn’t have to spend the day with Iverson.

Every night, when Lance got back from his day of work, he met Keith at one of the training rooms and fought robots together. Every time Lance saw Keith, every minute spent with him, he felt more and more interested in the other boy.

After every training, they would go shower and then join Pidge and Hunk at Pidge’s. They played video games, watched movies, talked for hours… Pidge and Hunk were there, but sometimes it almost felt like they were just the two of them.

Lance realized after these two days that he was falling hard for Keith, but…

What about him? Was it reciprocated?

Lance doubted it.

 

—

 

On Monday night, after an awful day of following Iverson around again, Lance was in Iverson’s office washing the floor, when the older man switched to creepy mode again.

“I’ve been reviewing your student record, Mr. McClain. It seems that you come from a difficult background. You must have worked hard to get that bursary,” Iverson said.

“The bursary again? I thought that if I stopped messing around and did what you wanted for two weeks, it would be fine,” Lance said, an uneasy feeling growing in his stomach.

“It’s true that if you do everything I want you’ll keep your bursary, but right now I have the authority to still revoke it. I could even invent a reason, and you would lose it without a say…” Iverson explained.

Lance stopped cleaning the floor, looking up at Iverson with fearful eyes. “You can’t…”

Iverson only smiled in response. They stared for a while, until Iverson stood up and came behind Lance, putting his two big hands on Lance’s shoulders. Lance was too anxious and unsure of what to do. He didn’t move. Iverson leaned down so his lips were just beside Lance’s ear.

“Don’t be scared, I have no plan to do so if you behave, Mr. McClain,” Iverson whispered.

Lance felt a shiver run through his whole body. He thought of Keith’s warning and couldn’t help but want to leave right away. Instead, he moved away from Iverson, continuing to mop the floor in possibly the most unnatural way he could have done it. Clumsiness and awkwardness be damned, Lance was glad to not feel Iverson’s presence right behind him.

Iverson didn’t say anything else, only smiled and got back to his desk to continue grading students’ works.

Lance thought 7 pm would never come. Sometimes he caught Iverson staring at him with a weird look again, as if he was satisfied to see him do his chores… Or was it the troubled look on Lance’s face that he liked? Anyway, nothing else happened afterwards, and Lance was really glad when the time came for him to leave.

He couldn’t wait to meet Keith and get Iverson’s creepiness off his mind.

 

—

 

This training had been really exhausting and they both needed to get some fresh air. So, Lance guided them on the roof of the Garrison, a place Lance knew of because Pidge went there sometimes to have even better signal than in the hallways.

“Wow… That’s a really good spot,” Keith said as he walked to the edge of the roof to sit there.

“I know, right?” Lance replied as he sat down beside Keith.

Their breath slowed down and they looked up at the starry sky.

“I can’t wait to be an astronaut and travel the universe,” Lance said dreamily.

“We’ll probably only go to Kerberos, though. It’s almost nothing compared to the entire universe,” Keith replied.

“Yeah… But still it’ll be awesome,” Lance told him.

“I guess you’re right,” Keith agreed. “You’re really passionate about piloting.”

“Of course I am! Otherwise, why would I be at the Garrison?” Lance replied energetically. “Don’t you like piloting too?”

“Yeah, but it’s not really a passion, more like… a calling?” Keith explained.

“Ok… I understand what you mean. I guess it’s the same for me, but I really like piloting. I don’t mind being a cargo pilot if I can fly in space,” Lance admitted.

There was silence for a long moment. Keith just stared at Lance who had his eyes fixed on the stars above. Lance was a goofball, but he had something endearing… something beautiful. Keith knew that no matter how much Lance messed around and acted childishly, he was still truly spirited and reliable.

He had spent a lot of time with him over the past week, and he never thought he would enjoy it as much. It was fun with him…

Keith liked Lance.

At that realization, Shiro’s words from a few days ago filled his mind and he became suddenly completely red. He stood up suddenly, feeling awfully embarrassed.

“I gotta go now, see you tomorrow,” Keith said, turning to leave right away.

“Oh, hey, Keith wait! I’m coming with you!” Lance yelled as he ran after Keith.

 

—

 

Lance had caught up to him way to quickly for Keith’s liking. And the worst was that they both needed a shower, so Keith had ended up in the changing room with Lance, both getting naked, like usual. But things were not usual anymore. Keith had just realized that he probably had stronger feelings for Lance than he thought, and that made things really awkward.  

And now, he couldn’t help but glance at Lance when the other boy took off his shirt. He was skinny, but in a toned way. Keith’s mind wandered to dirty thoughts he immediately pushed away at the back of his mind. He felt his face became hot again.

This was the worst. Normally, he would have been fine getting prepared to shower with another guy in the room, but now… Now Lance was all he could think about. Why did it have to be Lance? Seriously… Was it because he was his first friend? Was it because he liked to spend time with him? Was it because his eyes and smile were breathtaking?

No! He couldn’t fall for Lance McClain!

Lance was different from him. He was boisterous and friendly. He was funny and bright. He had friends and family.

Keith was reserved, angry, and only had Shiro for family… He was a hotheaded loner.

“Keith? Are you alright? You’ve been staring for a while,” Lance said then.

“Oh, sorry, I was lost in thoughts,” Keith replied, looking away.

“Don’t lie, you can say it. You were hypnotized by the view,” Lance said with a teasing smile and a movement of an arm to show his whole body, only covered by a towel around his hips.

“No! Really not!” Keith yelled, way too angrily.

Lance’s face deflated. Ok, that had been really rude, Keith realized.

“Sorry, I didn’t…” Keith started.

“It’s alright, Mullet,” Lance said with a small smile. “I know I’m not your type.”

Keith always thought that Lance was happy all the time, but he realized then that it was just playing pretend. Lance hid things. He pushed them deep inside of him, so deep only he could see them. Keith, on the other hand, liked to exteriorize his dark emotions. That was why he was known as having a bad temper.

Lance turned around and headed for the shower. Keith couldn’t let their conversation end like this.

“You’re wrong,” Keith said then.

Lance turned around, curious.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You’re wrong, about…” Keith was hesitating. Would saying that change something between Lance and him? Would it destroy their friendship? Would Lance make fun of him? But he needed to say it, and at that point there was probably no going back anyway. “…you not being my type.”

Keith refused to look at Lance. He was angry at his own heart for making this situation difficult, for filling him with so many strong emotions at once. There was fear, and hope, and relief, and... and maybe affection?

“What?” Lance asked, looking shocked.

“You heard me,” Keith said with a way too angry tone.

Then, he heard Lance walk towards him. Keith maintained his eyes to the ground.

“I’m your type? Really?” Lance asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

Keith dared to lift his gaze up to meet Lance’s. His expression showed hope, but also a little bit of fear.

“Yeah,” Keith admitted, his tone slightly less angry, feeling the same hope Lance was emitting growing inside him.

Lance took a step closer.

“I… You’re my type too,” Lance confessed, visibly embarrassed, with a hand on the back of his neck, a small smile and eyes to the ground.

Keith’s heart felt so light then. All the dark emotions, the fear, the anger… It was all gone. He felt euphoric. Rejection was always something that scared Keith deeply. Lance’s words meant so much to him. More than the other boy could ever know.

“So, would you like to, maybe… date?” Lance asked, even more embarrassed.

“To date…Hum, yeah?” Keith replied.

This was a mess, but a good mess? Yeah, a good mess…

“Ok… Are you sure? It’s Ok if you’re not ready or…” Lance started.

“No, I want to date you,” Keith said, more decisively.

“Ok, fine then,” Lance replied with a bright happy smile. “We should probably shower now, before one of the teachers kicks us out of here.”

Keith agreed and they went into separate showers. Their hearts were both beating fast, filled with a deep happiness.

“So, you were really staring earlier, uh?” Lance said then with the same teasing tone as earlier.

“Dammit, Lance…” Keith replied.

 

—

 

“Can’t believe you’re that bad at playing video games!” Pidge laughed.

Keith growled in frustration. He was better at real-life action. And it wasn’t like he had played a lot in his life.

“Lance must have gone easy on you. He’s usually pretty good, even if Pidge is totally the best between us,” Hunk said.

“That jerk…” Keith said, but couldn’t help the blush on his cheeks as he remembered Lance’s words from the night before.

They were dating…

Yet they hadn’t seen each other much all day. Keith wanted to spend even more time with Lance now, but this stupid punishment that kept him busy with Iverson was a real pain, for the both of them now. Thinking about it, Lance hadn’t been complaining much about Iverson lately. Was it because he was used to it now? Or maybe Lance was hiding things.

Keith remembered Iverson’s smile when he had passed by him and his filthy hand on Lance’s lower back, he remembered Lance’s reaction when Keith had grabbed his wrist… No, there was definitely something going on, and Keith feared that it was worse than he thought. He hated that Lance hadn’t listened to his offer, but he didn’t want to be pushy. Maybe he should be? Lance could get hurt. And this simple thought awakened something in him. He needed to protect Lance. Keith remembered again how Iverson had gone too far with him, and how he had blinded the older man to get away, but he had no proof against Iverson, so he didn’t say anything and accepted to be expelled for a month. Now, everything Keith did was judged by higher-ups above Iverson, which was good in a way. But Lance didn’t have that chance…

 

He had to do anything he could to protect Lance.

 

-

 

The next day, Keith and Lance were working together as a team in their physic class. Lance seemed out of it now that he was focused on the exercises they had to do.

“Lance? I wanted to ask… Are you Ok?” Keith asked then.

“Yes? I told you I was Ok this morning, when you asked ‘how are you today’… Do you already have memory issues at your age?” Lance replied.

“No, dumbass, it’s just that… I’m concerned about you,” Keith replied.

“Aww, you care!” Lance teased him.

“Were dating, Lance, of course I care!” Keith replied way too loud.

Looking around quickly, they noticed that no one had seem to hear them. Since they were only dating, it still wasn’t official, so no one knew yet, not even Hunk and Pidge, and they preferred it that way for now.

“You have a point there,” Lance admitted with a smile.

Keith took his hand under their desk and they both looked into each other’s eyes. Lance looked surprised and Keith noticed the blush on his face.

“If there’s anything, you can tell me. You know, right?” Keith told him.

Lance was silent for a moment.

“Of course I know it!” He finally replied, looking away with an embarrassed expression.

There. Lance had done it again. He had pushed away all his concerns, hid his true feelings and put on his happy mask. But at that point Keith knew there was no breaking his walls for now. He would have to try again later.

 

-

 

Lance couldn’t wait for his punishment to be done. Iverson kept gripping his arms, his shoulders, his wrists… even his hips. Sometimes it hurt. But the worst was when Iverson went behind him, when Lance could feel the other man’s presence way too close to him, intimidating, dangerous...

He didn’t know how long he could go on like this. Everyday became more and more stressful. Lance had to hide the deep fear that ran through his veins every time he was in Iverson’s presence. It was no good. He felt like he had to tell someone, but he wasn’t sure who. He would have maybe told Keith, but he didn’t want to worry him unnecessarily. And it wasn’t like Keith could really do anything at this point. There were only a few days left for his punishment. Only a few more days…

 

-

 

Keith was walking with Lance to Iverson’s office after last period. Lance was talking about a lot of things, like usual. Keith tried to listen to most of his babbling, but his mind was elsewhere. He needed to force Lance to be honest with him. And something told him he knew what Lance was hiding…

“Is Iverson alright with you? Has he done anything weird again lately?” Keith cut him then.

Lance became quiet for a small moment.

“Why do you ask about Iverson? By the way, you told me about you blinding him for a reason… What happened exactly between you and him?” Lance asked.

“Answer my question first,” Keith replied.

It was quiet again for a long moment. Keith could almost see Lance’s walls hardly holding on inside him.

“I… I just can’t wait for this damn week to be over,” Lance replied simply.

“Lance, if he has hurt you or anything, please tell me, I can help, and if I can’t, then I’m sure Shiro can,” Keith offered.

This time, Lance was the one to take Keith’s hand as they came to a stop near Iverson’s office. There was no one in this hallway at that moment.

“Thank you, Keith, but I can handle it,” Lance told him, putting a small kiss on Keith’s cheek.

Keith couldn’t push further with the questioning, too taken aback by the loving gesture. He could still feel Lance’s soft lips on his cheek even as Lance walked away. But soon, a deep feeling of uneasiness filled him.

If Lance wouldn’t open up, Keith would have to find another way to protect him.

 

-

 

The more he thought about it, the more Keith felt like something didn’t feel right that night. He was playing video games with Pidge and Hunk, as usual at this hour, but Keith had a weird growing sensation inside him, like he knew something terrible was about to happen. Over time, Keith had learned to listen to his instincts, and now they were telling him to go to Lance. So, Keith stood up suddenly, startling his new friends.

“I-I have to go,” he stuttered.

“Wait, what? You’re just gonna leave half way through a game!?” Pidge complained.

Keith didn’t answer as he exited the room. He made his way quickly in the hallways, without caring about the teachers telling him not to run.

He had to get to Lance.

 

—

 

“Are you kidding me?” Lance complained. “This is real abuse!”

Iverson, who was towering over Lance, had voluntarily dropped the rest of his old coffee on him.

“Change,” Iverson told him.

No excuse, great. What a compassionate man…

Not that Lance expected much of him anyway.

“Okay, I’ll be back,” Lance said with an annoyed tone.

He was about to go out of the office, but Iverson stood in his way.

“No. Change here,” the man said, as he himself made his way slowly to the open door.

“What?” Lance asked, confused.

There he was again, being creepy… But this time something felt different, and Lance really didn’t like it. Iverson looked outside his office, and closed the door before locking it. Lance felt his heart beat faster in his chest. He looked from the door to the man’s face. Iverson had a big disturbing smile on his face, and seemed amused by Lance’s clearly afraid expression.

“I said change here,” Iverson repeated slowly.

“No…” Lance replied in a small voice.

Ok. Maybe he hadn’t exaggerated. Maybe he was in trouble. Maybe he should have listened to Keith. Keith…

“I should probably remind you that your bursary is in my hands now,” Iverson told him, waiting a few seconds for the words to sink in. “Take off your shirt.”

Lance was shaking now. This was really bad. But he really needed the bursary. If it was just his shirt…

After a moment, Lance took his shirt off hesitantly.

Iverson walked slowly back to his position closer to Lance, who couldn’t help but step back only to hit the desk behind him. “I’ll show you what real abuse is,” Iverson told the younger man as he got closer.

That’s when Lance understood that it really wouldn’t be “just his shirt”. Lance acted on instinct and sprinted for the door then. It was useless as he was almost immediately caught by Iverson’s large strong arms and pushed to the ground on his stomach. Iverson dropped down on him as Lance was panicking, trying desperately to escape. The door was just in front of him. If he could just… If he could…

“Let me go!” Lance screamed, voice breaking. “Help!”

Iverson’s hand was on his mouth then. The older man was too strong. Lance couldn’t do anything against him has he felt the man’s other hand’s bruising grip on his hip, but he would not stop fighting. Not until…

Tears spilled out of his eyes then. He couldn’t think anymore. He just wanted to go away. He just wanted Iverson gone. He wanted to be back in his and Hunk’s room, playing video games with Pidge and flirting with Keith.

“The rumours…they say you’re still a virgin. Is it true?” Iverson asked, his disgustingly hot breath caressing Lance’s skin.

Iverson didn’t let go of Lance’s mouth, but the sudden stillness of his victim and the horror in Lance’s eyes were visibly all the answer Iverson needed. Iverson smiled widely and dropped down on Lance again, grinding against him and kissing the young man’s neck. Lance could feel the other man’s disgusting bulge hardening quickly on his ass. He was crying, fingers digging and nails scratching desperately against the ground to get out from under Iverson. He was screaming for Iverson to stop, pleading him to let him go. His cries were muffled. And even if he could scream, the office was soundproofed. Only someone passing really close by would hear, but there was no one left around the principal’s office at this hour. Lance heard the sound of a zipper. His trashing doubled, adrenaline coursing through his body and making him find the energy to fight even harder than he already was. He was somewhat able to free a bit of his mouth, and Iverson didn’t put it back, using it on Lance’s back to keep him in place while he freed his hard cock from his pants with the other.

“Help! Please, help!” Lance screamed, desperate.

He wanted to be saved. He wanted…

“Keith!” Lance sobbed.

Suddenly, a rough hand was shoved under his pants and underwear, he felt Iverson’s cruel unwelcome fingers grab his half-hard dick. Lance let out a fearful whine then.

“Oh, you like it?” Iverson said.

Lance wanted to protest, but he could only sob as his pants and underwear were forcefully pushed down his legs. Lance knew what was coming. He felt Iverson’s dick on his ass. He felt the older man positioned himself.

Lance wished it was only a nightmare….

But it wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> You can also follow me/send me an ask on Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


	5. HAPPY ENDING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Did Keith make it in time in this ending? Read to know! 
> 
> This ending is unfortunately really small, but full of fluff :) For the rest of the story (other endings) continue on the other chapter. 
> 
> Please leave Kudos and Comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!

**Happy ending:**

As Keith arrived to the teachers’ offices’ hallway, his ears picked up a faint scream. He would have missed it if it wasn’t that he recognized the voice immediately. His heart skipped a beat, fear making it hard to think straight. _Please let me make it!_ He ran even faster.

Finally, he reached Iverson’s office, and he heard Lance’s voice clearer this time.

“Keith!” he screamed with fear and desperation so strong it struck Keith with the same strong emotions.

Lance was screaming for him! He pushed the door, but it was locked.

“Oh, you like it?”

_No. No!_

With a strength he didn’t know he had, Keith kicked the door open, breaking the lock.

“Lance!” He screamed as he entered the office.

The sight before him was horrible, right out of his worst nightmare. Lance was on his stomach, held there forcefully, naked and vulnerable, crying and terrified while Iverson, this fucking monster, was on top of him with a disgusting hungry look on his face, his dirty unwanted hands touching Lance and his hard dick out.

Keith saw red.

He jumped on Iverson, taking him by surprise, and punched him repeatedly. Every punch was stronger, reflecting the growing rage he felt against him. He wanted Iverson to feel pain, to be in agony… to die! Keith wanted to kill him! He didn’t even care what would happen to him, he wanted the man gone! And the punches weren’t enough to calm Keith’s anger, so he reached for something to use, something to make Iverson regret ever touching his boyfriend. His hand fell on a pen on the man’s desk, and with a precise strike, he plunged it into Iverson’s good eye without any second thought.

Iverson screamed in pain, and it brought a bit of satisfaction to Keith, but it only lasted a few seconds before Lance’s wails brought him back to reality. Keith left Iverson then, his mind now entirely focused on getting to Lance. The Cuban boy had put his pants back on. Keith dropped down to the ground beside him and hugged him tight. Lance hugged him even tighter in response, as if Keith was a lifeline. They were both clinging to each other, and Keith could feel Lance shaking like a leaf in a storm.

“You’re OK now, you’re safe,” Keith murmured as he rocked them both.

Keith murmured soft reassuring words to him for a while, often repeating the same words, like a mantra. It seemed like there was just the both of them, safe in each other’s arms, cut from the cruel world that had put Lance through such a terrifying experience. People, teachers especially, reached the scene at some point in this whole chaos of cries and torment. Questions were sent their way, but none of them could answer, they were in shock.

It took a long time, but Lance’s wails finally calmed down a bit and the noise surrounding them started to make sense again to Keith.

“Did… Did he…” Keith stuttered then, concerned.

He had to ask so they would know if he needed medical attention. Lance shook his head, and Keith felt relief wash over him, it was so strong that he couldn’t help but let a few tears fall down his cheeks.

He had made it in time.

He had saved Lance.

 

—

 

**[A Few Weeks Later]**

A scream tore through Lance’s throat. He shot up, fear taking a hold of his body. His heart was beating fast and it seemed like he couldn’t get air into his lungs.

“Lance! Lance, calm down, you’re safe,” a sweet worried voice told him.

It made Lance feel better right away. It was Keith. Lance knew he was fine then. Keith’s presence, voice and touch were the definition of safe. Keith welcomed him into his arm, comforting his boyfriend the best he could. Lance had terrible nightmares since Iverson’s sexual assault. It had been prevented, but it still traumatized Lance.

“It was just a nightmare,” Keith murmured into his ear, rubbing his back and rocking them.

Lance was shaking, but at least he didn’t cry anymore. Even if there were still nights when he woke up screaming, they were less and less frequent. He was safe, and Keith swore to himself that he would stay by Lance’s side and protect him as long as he lived.

Hunk and Pidge were also really supportive. Hunk had even changed roommate to let Keith share his room with Lance who really needed the other boy’s presence.

Keith looked at the clock.

“Hey… I have an idea,” Keith said then.

Lance looked at him, curious. Keith only smiled and stood up, dragging Lance out of the room with him. They walked silently through the hallways of the Garrison, and Lance quickly caught onto Keith’s idea.

They reached the Garrison’s roof and sat on the edge like they had done weeks ago. They were just in time to see the sunrise, a beautiful orange colour spreading on the horizon almost endlessly.

“It’s beautiful… peaceful,” Lance told Keith, relaxing against the other boy.

Lance was always silent for a while when he had nightmares, only saying Keith’s name or small simple words sometimes. He usually got back to his hold self after that though, and Keith couldn’t help but like his goofball of a boyfriend this way, happy, talkative and bright.

Keith looked away, a deep blush spreading on his face.

“You remember a few months ago, when you brought me here one night after training, before everything that happened with Iverson? Well… That’s when I realized I had feelings for you,” Keith admitted.

There was silence for a moment and Keith dared to glance at Lance. The other boy was looking at him, surprised, Keith wasn’t really good with words or romance or anything regarding relationships in general, but for Lance he would put in an effort.

“You were all passionate and… and it was like there were more stars in your eyes than there were in the sky,” Keith admitted.

He knew these words would help Lance take his mind away from his troubled thoughts and the terror of his nightmares.

“I love you,” Lance breathed then.

Keith looked up at him. It was the first time either of them had said the words.

It wasn’t like they didn’t want to say them, it’s just that they were scared, and they were waiting for things to calm down. With all that had happened, they had agreed that they were together, always swearing to be there for the other and always caring for them no matter what. They had had to go through many trials, explain multiple times what had happened to them, claim self-defence…

Iverson was now blind and had been found guilty of sexual assault, rape and attempted rape on many students during the past years. Lance hadn’t been the only one that Iverson had touched. During the investigation, another teacher was found guilty of complicity and rape as well. After that, the whole system had been reformed and the Garrison had to put safe measures in place regarding the employment and supervision of the staff.

Lance had had his bursary ensured by the upper authorities of the Garrison, and help was also offered to him without anything hindering his studies. Nothing would stop him from making his dreams a reality.

But until then, they took it one day at a time, fighting every nightmare away, taking care of each other with all their hearts, enjoying every smile, every laugh…

Giving to other all their love.

“I love you too, Sharpshooter,” Keith replied and kissed the boy tenderly.

The sun rose on the horizon, lighting them both in a comforting warmth.

Someday, they would both become pilots.

They would see the stars together.

Travel far away from this planet.

Leaving the nightmares behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the next chapter to know what would have happened in another reality! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


	6. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Keith didn't make it in time. 
> 
> Since I posted the Happy Ending with this chapter as well, it is shorter than usual. Also, expect Lance to go through some awful things coming up in the next chapter. His real-life nightmare has just begun. 
> 
> Warning : This short chapter is really explicit until the ***. 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Thanks!!

Pain.

Lance felt a deep awful pain as Iverson thrust himself inside him in one push, tearing up his hole without any care but for his own pleasure. A scream escaped his lips, and Lance was crying freely as the man pushed farther inside him and then started moving back and forth in his ass. Lance pleaded for him to stop, but it only seemed to excite the other man even more. And it burned, it hurt so bad. Lance felt hot wetness around his hole.

“You’re so tight,” Iverson told him, and then moaned loudly.

Lance cried out in pain as Iverson started thrusting harder and faster. Iverson licked his neck and suddenly, one of the older man’s hand was back on his mouth and his other hand was on his shoulder, pressing hard on his collarbone. Iverson pushed and pushed and pushed, harder and harder and more brutal. Lance body was held in place by Iverson’s hands on his shoulder and mouth. Lance couldn’t breathe, his nostrils were filled with snot. There was a pressure on his neck then, but Lance was hardly registering it amongst all the chaos his body was in. It was endless, Iverson’s thrusts were destroying him from the inside. Spots filled his vision at the lack of oxygen, and Lance wished for the respite of unconsciousness.

But it never came, only Iverson did, and Lance saw stars as the older man’s cum filled him. Never had he ever thought that he would see that kind of stars while losing his virginity. His vision darkened for a moment. When he came back to himself, he was lying in a pool of blood and other bodily fluids. Iverson was back up, replacing his softened dick in his pants and looking at Lance with a still hungry look.

 

***

 

Lance was unable to move for a while, as he sobbed again, hardly pulling his pants up with shaky hands.

“You can go now, Mr. McClain. I expect to see you back at my office tomorrow morning, at 7. Don’t cause any more problems. We wouldn’t want to hinder your studies here, would we?” Iverson said.

Lance stood up on shaky feet, clumsily put his shirt back on as well, and left without a word. He couldn’t go to his room, so he walked, emotionless, to the showers. Fortunately, they were empty. At this hour, most students were either dinning, hanging out with their friends or doing extracurricular activities. Lance took off his clothes and went into a shower right away. He let the hot water wash over him. He felt dirty and… poisoned. A wave of weakness made his knees buckle under him. Lance fell on the ground and he watched in horror as diluted blood streamed down the drain. There was so much blood.

For a moment, Lance hoped he would lose enough blood it would kill him.

It didn’t.

 

—

 

“Where’s Lance?” Keith asked, hardly containing his anger.

Iverson was just exiting his office and locking his door when Keith had arrived. Lance was not around, and that was enough to worsen his worries. Lance was supposed to be with Iverson at this hour, and Iverson was known to be pretty strict with schedules and time.

“I let him go earlier. He said he didn’t feel too well,” Iverson answered.

“Don’t lie to me,” Keith replied, voice dangerous.

“Mr. Kogane, I advise you to watch your tone with me. I might not have the same authority I used to have with you, but I am still your supervisor,” Iverson told him.

“Go to hell! Tell me what really happened!” Keith yelled, his anger being more and more difficult to contain.

Keith saw when Iverson decided to drop the act. A twisted smile appeared on the older man’s lips.

“I see that you care a lot about him… Well, you were too late, Keith,” Iverson answered simply, walking away and leaving Keith in shock in the middle of the hallway.

Keith’s heart dropped, and he couldn’t move for a long moment.

It couldn’t be that Iverson had… No…

Had he really failed Lance?


	7. Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Lance has to deal with the after effects of what happened with Iverson. His friends know that something's wrong with him and want to help, but will he let them? 
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter! Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!

Lance got out of the shower when the water became too cold and he wasn’t sure if he felt anything anymore. As soon as he got up, a wave of nausea hit him full force. He quickly put a towel around his waist and ran for the toilet on wobbly legs, his ass protesting in pain. He got there just in time before he emptied his stomach content in it. After a few minutes of seemingly endless vomiting, the nausea finally died down a bit. He felt so weak, it was hard to get back on his feet, but he managed to do it. He wanted to sleep now.

He wanted to sleep and never wake up.

Lance walked back to the shower he was in and took his clothes from the ground. There was bodily fluids on them. And a lot of blood. Lance looked at the white towel around his waist. It was still white on the outside, but the inside had traces of blood. Lance saw that there was already some on his ass again. He put on his pants and threw the dirty underwear in the trash, placing them at the bottom of it so no one would find them. He got out of the bathroom just in time before a group of students entered. He walked slowly, his gaze never leaving the ground. There were more people around now. Students and teachers were making their way to their respective quarters. Lance would have walked faster, but his ass was hurting and his mind felt numb.

When he finally arrived to his room, Hunk was not there. He was probably still in Pidge’s room with Keith.

Keith…

Lance was glad that his friends weren’t there. He couldn’t face anyone now.

He changed in his pyjamas as quickly as he could and put his dirty clothes in a bag and hid them in a corner of his closet. He would burn them later. He was too exhausted now. As soon as it was all done, Lance slid under the covers of his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

He woke up a few hours later, screaming his voice raw, pleading the monster of his nightmare, and of his reality, to let him go. A few seconds later, Hunk was there, hugging him and murmuring soft reassurances in his ears. Lance barely registered his best friend’s words.

When he finally calmed down, Hunk left for a moment and came back with a glass of water. He handed it to Lance who took it gratefully. He was abnormally thirsty. Hunk placed one hand on his forehead then. It was cold, which was weird, because Hunk was never cold.

“I thought it was unusual for you to be asleep before curfew… You’re burning up, man. Maybe you should go to the infirmary,” Hunk told him.

“Don’t want to,” Lance replied, voice raw.

“No, you should definitely go to the infirmary,” Hunk insisted.

Lance would normally jump on the occasion to go to the infirmary and skip class for a few days, and Hunk knew that. But Lance didn’t reply anything after that, just put the empty glass on his bedside table and laid back down on his bed.

“Lance? Are you OK? I-is it your nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?” Hunk asked, concerned.

Lance’s eyes welled up in tears, and he hoped that the bigger man wouldn’t notice. He couldn’t answer verbally, his throat being too tight right now, so he only shook his head.

“O-okay. If you need anything, or if you want to talk, I’m here, buddy,” Hunk said then.

The bigger man stood up and went back to sleep in his own bed. Lance couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Not only was he scared of his nightmares, his head wouldn’t stop replaying horrible memories in his mind. When Hunk woke up the next morning, Lance was already gone.

He didn’t want to go to Iverson’s office, and he felt really sick, so he decided to follow Hunk’s advice and went to the infirmary. And just like his friend had guessed, Lance had a fever and the nurse told him to get some rest for the rest of the day. He went to Iverson’s office reluctantly to give the man the nurse’s memo excusing him from any activity that day. Lance was scared, shaking like crazy, in front of Iverson.

“Alright, Cadet. Hopefully, you will be back in health tomorrow,” the older man said simply.

“Thank you, Sir,” Lance replied in a small voice, eyes on the ground.

He was so ashamed. He wanted to appear strong, to show the man that he hadn’t broken him… But he had. Lance couldn’t deny it.

“Oh, and by the way, Mr. McClain, you forgot to wash the mess you made yesterday. Don’t forget next time,” Iverson told him.

Lance froze there. Time stopped, he couldn’t hear or feel anything for a long moment.

_No._

No, he didn’t want to. He wouldn’t survive another time. He lifted scared eyes to Iverson who smiled at him.

“Now that’s more like it. I like that expression on you better… Lance,” Iverson told him, lingering on his name as if savouring the sound of it on his tongue.

He had just called Lance by his name, it sounded so intimate and wrong. Lance felt nauseous again.

“Oh, but let’s keep that for when we’re alone. We wouldn’t want to attract unnecessary attention, would we? And, by the way, you really have a lovely mark on your neck,” he added.

Lance’s hand went instinctively to his neck. He backed away slowly.

“See you tomorrow, Lance,” Iverson told him as he exited the man’s office.

Lance didn’t even remember the way back to his room, didn’t even change, only got under the covers of his bed in the darkened room. There were no windows in their room, so that helped. He wanted to fade away in the darkness, to stop the pain in his body and in his mind. He wanted to stop remembering Iverson’s hot breath and bruising grip on his body, stop the sound of the older man’s moans and the pain of his dick filling him. He wanted…

There was a knock on his door.

Lance’s heart started beating fast. Who could it be? Could it be Iverson? Maybe… Maybe he…

The knocking sound again, louder this time. Lance didn’t make a sound and closed his eyes tightly, wishing to disappear and not hear that awful knocking sound again. Was he going crazy? Probably…

And then, he heard a clicking sound.

Only Hunk had the key to their room. Only Hunk and… and the teachers in case of an emergency. Who was it? He was so scared… So frightened. And then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped away by instinct. Pushing himself as far away as he could from the hand.

“Hey, hey… Calm down, it’s just me, Pidge. Wow, Hunk wasn’t kidding when he said you had terrible nightmares. Are you OK, man?” Pidge asked, surprised, but also visibly concerned.

It was Pidge… It was only Pidge… Yeah, he was definitely going crazy now.

“Y-yeah, sorry, freaking nightmares,” he laughed dryly, calming down slowly.

“I was just checking up on you, since Hunk can’t because he’s working during lunch time, y’know. I knocked, but you were deeply asleep I guess,” she explained.

“Oh, OK, thanks. I’m fine. I just have a bit of fever and nausea, but the nurse gave me meds, so I should be fine soon,” he explained.

“OK. I brought you a sandwich,” she told him then, giving him said sandwich. “Hunk made it specially for you.”

Hunk was always so caring. He was totally their mom-friend, and he enjoyed that role. Pidge went to turn the light on as Lance opened the plastic surrounding the sandwich. He wasn’t hungry at all, but he doubted Pidge would leave if he didn’t make an effort to swallow a bite or two.

She walked back and stopped midway as her eyes fell on him. He looked back at her, confused. She looked… surprised.

“So, Keith and you hit it off, uh?” she asked him, teasingly.

“What?” he asked confused.

“Your neck, that’s definitely a hickey. So, you two…?” she asked while wiggling her eyebrows, curious and waiting impatiently for an answer.

 

Lance hadn’t really looked at his neck, or at himself in general since the night before. He didn’t want to see the marks Iverson had left on his body or the lifelessness in his eyes.

“We were dating, but this… It was with someone else,” he answered hesitantly, turning his gaze away.

“With someone else? Who? If you were dating Keith, why would you do that?” She insisted.

“It’s a secret,” he told her with a small smile.

“What?! You got a secret lover and you didn’t even tell us, your best friends!” She complained.

Memories of the night before surged in him, and a wave of nausea hit him hard.

“I wouldn’t say ‘lover’… still, I won’t tell you,” he replied decidedly.

“That’s strange. I thought you wouldn’t shut up about your first time once you did it,” she admitted. “Come on, tell me, did you like it at least?”

Images of Iverson forcing him to the ground. Lance’s nails scratching until they got all bloodied as he tried to escape the man on top of him…

_You’re so tight_

_Tell anyone, and you can say goodbye to your little dream of going into space, Mr. McClain._

“Pidge…”

It was the only warning she got before he sprinted to the toilet and dry heaved a few times before bile made its way up his throat, burning his esophagus at the same time. Pidge waited for him to stop throwing up and brought him a glass of water as soon as he was done. He drank a bit of it, thankful for the cold sensation easing the burning in his throat.

“Are you a bit better now? I’ll help you back to your bed,” she offered.

He nodded and she helped him to his feet. Soon he was under the covers again and ready to get some real rest.

“You should still try eating a bit, OK?” she told him, worry lacing her voice.

Their previous conversation was forgotten, and Lance was glad that she had let go of the topic.

“Thank you, Pidge,” he said and closed his eyes.

She left soon after and locked the door behind her. It took a while for him to fall asleep after that, but physical exhaustion finally won over his troubled mind.

 

—

 

Lance woke up screaming and crying again, but there was no one to comfort him then. After having calmed down a bit, he went to the toilet. There was still blood in his underwear, but there was less than the night before. He put his dirty underwear into the bag of clothes hidden in his closet. He needed a shower. He felt gross, as if he was still covered with the man’s scent and bodily fluids… Just this simple thought made him remember the sensation of Iverson’s cum filling him. He almost threw up again but was able to calm down his nausea this time. Lance put on one of Hunk’s huge hoodies and some pants, and went to the showers.

He spent a whole 45 minutes there, scrubbing his skin until it was red, hoping it would help remove the feeling of Iverson’s touch on his bare skin. It didn’t. Lance could see the marks now. The bruises on his hips, those on his collarbone, the dark hickey on his neck… His nails were all broken too. At some point, Lance just dropped to the ground and cried silently for a few long minutes.

After his shower, he decided to have a good look at himself. It was worse than he thought. He had dark circles, even if he had slept a lot, his usual tan seemed wrongly pale, there were round bruises on his collarbone, on his back, on his hip and on his thigh, and there was no more life in his eyes. He wanted to cry again, but he was also filled with a deep numbness now.

He didn’t stand there any longer afterwards, and put Hunk’s hoodie on. It wasn’t covering the hickey well, but it was better than nothing. He left the bathroom after that, walking with his gaze to the ground, his hood up and his mind away.

“Lance!” He then heard a voice pierce through the numbness isolating him from reality.

There was relief in it, and Lance wanted to disappear as soon as he lifted his head and saw who had called him. It was Keith. He looked worried.

“Oh, hey, Mullet!” Lance tried, but there was something unnatural about it.

He felt broken. Keith reached him and grabbed one of his hands, not caring if they were seen. Lance thought that Keith would take the longest to show affection in public, so that was a surprise. Lance knew that Keith would notice his broken nails if they held hands for too long, so he moved his hand away from Keith’s grip.

“Where were you? I’ve been looking for you since yesterday!” Keith told him, hardly keeping his voice low.

“I was sick in my room. Why?” Lance asked him.

“When I passed by your room before class, you weren’t there and I hadn’t seen you in class… Are you feeling better?” Keith asked then, his expression worried again, and a little ashamed.

“Yeah, a bit. I must have caught a virus or something. I’ll be fine tomorrow,” Lance explained.

Would he really be fine? Honestly, he doubted he would ever be fine again.

“Are you sure it’s only that?” Keith asked. For a moment, his eyes fell on Lance’s neck where the hickey was, and horror crossed his features. “Who did that to you?”

Keith asked, and his gaze seemed disconnected from reality in that moment. Lance thought that maybe Keith felt betrayed, seeing such a mark on the neck of the guy he was dating. Lance would have understood if Keith decided to scream at him, to leave him alone… Lance didn’t know exactly what he wanted from Keith at this point… To stay and be his support? To leave and never know what happened?

“Was it Iv…” Keith started.

Lance heart stopped for a second and he didn’t let Keith finish. He didn’t know how Keith could’ve guessed that something had happened with Iverson, but he really didn’t want to hear the man’s name, especially if it was Keith who said it.

“It was my boyfriend.”

There was silence for a moment. A series of emotions crossed Keith’s features: surprise, hurt, anger…

“No… You’re lying. Do you really think I’ll believe you? Who would be your boyfriend anyway?!” Keith yelled, furious.

There was silence again, but this one was terrible. It was filled with Keith’s anger and Lance’s broken heart. Everyone around them had heard, and they were looking at them in shock. Lance didn’t really care about them, but Keith’s word hurt him deeply.

“I hate you…” Lance said, voice heavy and tears pricking his eyes.

He could be loved by another man right? In answer to his own thoughts, Lance could only think about Iverson’s moans, and that was all it took for Lance to turn away and leave. He was again disconnected from reality. He barely registered Keith swearing and grabbing his arm to stop him.

“Wait, Lance! I didn’t mean it like that…” Keith tried to explain.

Lance tried to free himself from Keith’s grip. He was starting to panic, and Keith kept saying words that just didn’t seem to reach Lance’s ears. He needed to go. He needed to go now!

“Leave me alone!” Lance screamed then, causing Keith to stop.

And then a voice brought Lance out of his shock and into this cruel reality.

“Mr. McClain, Mr. Kogane, are you two causing trouble again? Do you want your punishment to be worsened, Mr. McClain?” Iverson told them.

“Iverson…” Keith said with venom in his voice.

His whole body was shaking now. He hoped Keith wouldn’t notice. At least, he was able to contain his emotions otherwise.

“No, Sir,” Lance replied.

“Go back to your room, Mr. McClain. You visibly still need rest,” Iverson told him.

“Yes, Sir,” was his answer as he left without waiting any longer.

He heard Keith yell at Iverson behind, but it didn’t concern him anymore. He went to his room and under the covers again. He didn’t fall asleep for a long time, only stared at Hunk’s empty bed in front of his. When Hunk entered, Lance forced his eyes closed. He didn’t want to talk to anyone anymore, but Hunk had too big a heart to let Lance sleep without making sure he had eaten something that day. He felt his best friend’s hands on his shoulder and opened his eyes slowly.

“Hey, buddy, how are you feeling?” Hunk asked.

“I feel like I’m dying,” Lance answered back.

For once in his life, he wasn’t exaggerating, but Hunk didn’t take him seriously. He didn’t know what had really happened. What had broken Lance.

“You should eat a bit. I brought you soup. Pidge said that you threw up when she came earlier, so I thought you might want something a little easier to eat than a sandwich,” Hunk explained.

Lance sat down.

“Thanks, buddy,” Lance replied, taking the cup of soup and the spoon Hunk was handing him.

He wasn’t hungry, but he took a bite. It was… tasteless. Hunk never made tasteless food, but it really felt like there was no comforting spices in it.

“It’s really good,” Lance lied with a small smile.

“Hey… what… what happened to your fingers?” Hunk tried hesitantly.

Oh… Hunk had been the first one to notice. Maybe Keith had, but he hadn’t asked.

“Nightmare… I think. I woke up with these,” Lance lied again.

“That’s super _not_ reassuring, man. Pidge told me you almost jumped out of your bed when she woke you up earlier. Maybe you should go talk to the psychologist here,” Hunk offered.

“Yeah… I’ll go see her,” he agreed.

That… That might actually help him? What if he found ways to forget about all of what had happened. He would not tell the psychologist, but they had ways to make you refocus on the positive things in life. Yeah, that could be a good idea.

That could save his life.

“So, Pidge didn’t lie when she said that you and Keith…” Hunk started, eyeing the hickey on Lance’s neck.

The Cuban boy put a hand to cover it. “It wasn’t Keith,” he replied angrily.

“What? Who was it? I thought you were waiting for someone special and all…” Hunk said.

“It’s a secret… He doesn’t want people to know about us,” Lance said.

Again, Iverson’s word replayed in his mind.

_Tell anyone, and you can say goodbye to your little dream of going into space, Mr. McClain._

“So, he isn’t out then? You’re not the type to keep secrets, especially when it comes to love… I understand that you wouldn’t tell me his name, but not telling me you were with someone now… Is he good to you?” Hunk asked concerned.

“Of course he is, buddy,” Lance replied with a reassuring smile.

It didn’t seem so convincing, because Hunk’s worried expression didn’t go away.

“Well, if you say so, buddy,” Hunk finally gave up. “Finish your soup now.”

Hunk talked about his day, waiting for Lance to finish his soup before going to Pidge’s room for the rest of the evening. Lance listened, his mind sometimes wandering away, but always going back to Hunk. It was refreshing. It felt good to have Hunk’s presence and to have something else on his mind for a small moment.

But once Hunk was gone, his mental stability failed him. He thought back to Iverson’s abuse, to his fight with Keith and to the lies he told his friends. He thought of his family, and how he had failed them by going against the school's rules too many times.

He felt like it was all his fault, like he had put himself in this situation, like there was no way for him to fight back now.

If only he had been a better student, he wouldn't have had his bursary threatened and in Iverson's hands. 

If only he had the courage to tell someone, to expose Iverson and himself... 

But he couldn't do it, he was too ashamed...

He was too scared...   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> My beta reader said that this story is really predictable and so kinda boring... and now I feel a bit unmotivated. So if you like this story, please leave a comment :) 
> 
> I'll publish a new chapter by next Saturday anyway! This story will still have two more endings. 
> 
> Lance's nightmare has just begun...


	8. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> In this chapter, Keith tries to reach out to Lance, who goes through hell again...
> 
> It's also bigger than usual, because I added another part at the last minute. I hope you'll like it! :)
> 
> I'd also like to say a big thank you to everyone who commented on my last chapter, it really cheered me up and I was able to get my motivation back! ^.^
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Rape/non-con -> Every part between "*** (start)" and "(end) ***" contains explicit content.

“So, what is it? You sounded distressed on the phone earlier,” Shiro asked Keith.

“It’s about Lance,” Keith started.

“Is it official now?” Shiro asked with a small knowing smile.

“No, it’s not that. He… He told me he had a boyfriend. There was a hickey on his neck,” Keith replied.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Shiro told him, concerned now.

Shiro knew Keith had difficulty opening up to people, and he was surprised when his mentee had told him he had made friends, and about a week later added that he was dating Lance. Now, Shiro was worried what effect it would have on Keith to have been rejected… again.

“It was a lie. It’s not true, he doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Keith added calmly, which was unusual for him.

“What makes you say that?” Shiro asked.

“Because… Listen, I lied about what happened with Iverson the night I blinded him. I told you that he made me angry, insulting me and you, pushing me to my limits…” Keith started.

“Yeah, and after that you were assessed by a psychologist who said that you had anger issues, and that you had to be handled and supervised accordingly,” Shiro agreed.

“Yeah… But I didn’t attack Iverson because of that. It was self-defence,” Keith admitted.

There was silence for a moment. Shiro feared where this conversation was going.

“What happened exactly?” Shiro asked.

“Iverson… He tried to… He tried to force me to do things,” Keith started.

“What kind of things?” Shiro encouraged him.

Keith lifted his eyes to meet Shiro’s.

“That night…” Keith started.

 

—

 

**[A few weeks ago]**

 

_Keith had been called to Iverson’s office. He didn’t know why he was called this time, but he guessed one of the teachers must have complained about his lack of teamwork and unruly attitude. The old routine._

_As he was reaching Iverson’s office, he passed by two other students. He didn’t know their names, but he knew he had classes with them. One of them was a big guy with dark skin and an orange headband. The other was a lanky guy with short hair and tanned skin. That guy was annoying, that he knew. Really loud, outgoing and flirty… What caught his eyes though was how close they were, like brothers almost. Keith felt this way with Shiro sometimes, but he was used to being a loner and opening up was hard for him. Still, Shiro was the closest he had ever been to another person since his father’s disappearance._

_The door to Iverson’s office was wide open when he entered. Iverson told him to close it. Keith sat down in front of him after that._

_“So, what is it this time?” Keith asked, annoyed._

_“Complaints,” Iverson replied simply._

_Tonight, Iverson looked really weird in Keith’s opinion. He didn’t feel really comfortable being in the same small room as this man._

_“Are we really going to get through this again? I am the most skilled pilot of my year, and you know it. I’m also not a troublemaker in class, I don’t talk to anybody! I just dislike teaming up with others,” Keith explained._

_Keith had been rejected and brutalized too many times in his life, now it was hard for him to connect with people and even just socialize._

_Iverson stood up._

_“I have a proposition for you, to help me forget about the complaints. They are building up on my desk and you’re now on the verge of being expelled,” Iverson said then as he turned around his desk to be closer to Keith._

_Keith felt anxiety creeping him. That couldn’t be… He wasn’t that bad, no? He…. He really didn’t want to disappoint Shiro, he counted on him so much to become a pilot like him._

_“What is it?” Keith asked, uneasy._

_Iverson leaned down, and Keith backed away as far as he could in his chair._

_“You could pay me…” Iverson said as he stared up and down Keith’s body._

_“No! Y-you’re disgusting!” Keith yelled as he made to stand up, but was pushed down on his chair by Iverson._

_“Don’t touch me,” Keith told him then with a threatening voice._

_“Come on, Keith… Why are you being so stubborn when I’m being so generous?” Iverson was getting closer._

_“I said, back off!” Keith told him then, as his fist instinctively shot up._

_However, Iverson had expected the attack and blocked it. Then Iverson’s other hand passed swiftly over his neck to grab at his long hair. Iverson forced his head back._

_“Get off me!” Keith told him angrily through gritted teeth._

_“You’re always so rebellious, I wonder what it would take to break you,” Iverson whispered in his ear._

_Keith was starting to really feel fear build up inside him. Iverson wasn’t at the top of their school hierarchy for no reason. He was an excellent combatant. He was scary._

_Keith cursed internally. He knew that if he fought back now he would get expelled, no matter what. He had no proof to accuse him of sexual assault. He would be the most in trouble probably. But he had no choice… So, he kicked Iverson in the crotch and quickly reached for his knife, a memento from his mother that he almost always had on him. He then swung it towards the man’s face. He just needed to scare Iverson a bit and escape. But Iverson’s reaction was slower than Keith expected. With horror, he saw the knife catch one of his eyes, slicing it almost precisely, leaving no wound around the eyeball._

_Iverson screamed in pain, and Keith took the opportunity to run out. His heart was beating fast in his chest._

_What had he done?_

_—_

“He tried to rape you…” Shiro murmured, shocked.

Keith’s words played on repeat in his mind. He was shocked for a long moment, but now that he thought about it, he should have noticed the signs. They were pretty obvious. The way Keith had seemed distant, hadn’t wanted to explain his fit of anger against Iverson, had reacted strangely at anybody’s touch since then… Shiro was angry at himself now that he had been so blind. He stood up then, rage coursing through his veins. How did Iverson dare touch Keith this way?!

“Shiro, calm down, nothing happened. I blinded him before he could do anything…” Keith tried.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Iverson… He should be in jail now,” Shiro said, hardly containing his emotions.

“I don’t know… There was no proof, so it would’ve complicated things even more. I just wanted to have nothing to do with Iverson anymore, and continue to study to become a pilot,” Keith admitted.

“And if you’re telling me this now… It’s because you think Iverson might have done something to Lance,” Shiro concluded.

“I _know_ he did something to Lance. I don’t know what exactly, but I want to help him. That’s why I need your help. I tried talking to Lance, but I messed up and now I don’t think he will ever want to talk to me again. And even if I want to beat up Iverson, I know that it won’t change anything at this point,” Keith explained with a contained rage.

Shiro felt the deep anger, desperation and sadness in Keith’s voice. Keith was all about reacting and fighting, but for a dear one, he was able to try and think of a better way to help. It was the most mature Shiro had ever seen Keith. In that moment, he saw potential leadership abilities in Keith, if he had a good right-hand just like Lance. But now they had more important things to take care of.

“Alright, we need proof that Iverson actually hurt Lance or any other student to incriminate him,” Shiro said.

“What if he doesn’t want to admit it?” Keith asked.

“Then we have to reassure him that he will be protected and that he can count on our support,” Shiro replied. “Can you try talking to him privately again?”

“I don’t know if it’ll work,” Keith admitted.

“Well, the sooner you try the better. The evidence will be easier to document this way and… and there’s a possibility that Lance might be hurt again by Iverson if we don’t act quickly enough,” Shiro said.

At these words, Keith stood up and put his jacket on.

“Thank you, Shiro. I’ll keep you updated,” Keith said.

“If there’s anything, call me right away. And try to stay away from dangerous situations as much as possible, alright? We want to protect Lance, not put you in danger,” Shiro told him.

“Understood,” was Keith’s last words before he left.

 

—

 

Lance didn’t sleep well that night again. At least, he wasn’t feeling as feverish and nauseous as the day before. He passed by the infirmary to have his vitals checked. The nurse was kind, as usual.

“Mr. McClain, would you mind following me to my office?” She asked after they were done with the check-up.

He agreed, obviously. There she invited him to sit down, and she sat in front of him.

“Your vitals are better today, but I can see that you’re still not doing too well. I’d have a few questions to ask you, and I’d like you to answer them if you can,” she told him gently.

“OK,” he answered, unsure.

“Have you slept well during the past few days?” She asked.

“No,” he answered honestly.

“I can see that your nails are in a worrying state. Could you tell me how it happened?”

“A nightmare,” he lied.

She didn’t seem to believe him but didn’t insist on getting the truth.

“I also noticed a mark on your neck. Was it done during sexual intercourse?” She asked.

He nodded.

_Tell anyone, and you can say goodbye to your little dream of going into space, Mr. McClain._

There was silence for a moment.

“Did you both give your consent?” She asked.

He had to… He had to lie, so he nodded again. She sighed, visibly relieved.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll give you something to help you sleep better. If you have another nightmare like the one that put your nails in this state, please come by the infirmary again,” she told him. “Do you want another day off? I think you should rest a bit more,” she offered.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said with a small smile.

She made him another memo and Lance passed by Iverson’s office to give it to him. Iverson read it and looked back at Lance to inspect him. Lance kept eyeing the closed door behind him. Iverson had asked that he closes it. When Lance had tried to protest, Iverson had sent him a threatening look that had made the younger man shudder. Lance had followed the older man’s order.

“You look awful, Mr. McClain. What lie did you tell?” Iverson asked him.

Iverson looked angry. He usually did, but there was something more in his features that made Lance shiver in fear.

“I-I told everyone I had a secret lover. And that it was consensual,” Lance said, voice shaky.

“Good,” Iverson replied, and examined the paper again for a long awful moment, voluntarily making Lance more and more tense. “Go to your room now and get some rest,” he finally said.  

“Yes, Sir,” Lance agreed, leaving Iverson’s office right away.

 

—

 

Lance was able to fall asleep deeply thanks to the nurse’s meds. They were really powerful, so much he didn’t wake up when the door opened at lunch. What woke him up was a hand on his shoulder and a soft voice telling him that it was time to eat.

“Pidge?” he asked, opening his eyes drowsily.

“The one and only. Oh, and Keith came too,” she said as she eyed the pills on his bedside table. “Wow, she gave you some really effective drug. I hope it’ll help you with your nightmares too, buddy.”

“I was sleep deprived because of how shitty I felt yesterday and the nightmares, so…” Lance explained, sitting up on his bed.

Keith came into his field of vision then. “Go away,” Lance told him, memories of their fight coming back to him.

“Lance, I just wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry for what I said… Pidge, can I talk to him privately?” Keith asked.

“No, you leave, she stays,” Lance said.

“Please Lance, let me explain,” Keith replied.

Was he really doing puppy eyes to Lance? How was that possible for the grumpy guy to have such a cute expression? This was totally unfair…

“Alright, I give you 5 minutes,” Lance offered.

Keith smiled and Pidge got out, a bit confused.

“Lance, I was angry because I thought something really awful had happened to you, and that you wouldn’t tell me,” Keith admitted. “You’re annoying and loud and flirty… But you’re a great person, Lance. I don’t want anyone hurting you.”

“You said that no one would be my boyfriend…” Lance reminded him.

“That’s really not what I meant… I was asking who it was, because I hadn’t seen you hanging out with anybody else, and it’s just the way I said it that was really confusing,” Keith replied.

Lance remained silent.

“Lance, listen, you can tell me everything, I won’t judge I promise, and I can help,” Keith said then. “I talked to Shiro and…”

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked then.

“I-I... I know about Iverson, Lance,” Keith started.

Lance’s mind shut down then. It was like a wall had fallen inside him, blocking any information from coming in or out.

“What about Iverson?” Lance asked. “Keith, you’re being really weird right now…”

“I know what he did to you… That he rap…” Keith started.

“Keith. Leave,” Lance cut him.

“Wha…” Keith started.

“I don’t know what disgusting fantasy you’re imagining, but nothing happened with Iverson! I have a boyfriend, Keith! And if you’re trying to make up stories to protect your poor little heart, then I don’t ever wanna see you again,” Lance told him, venom deep in his voice.

There was silence for a moment. Keith felt hurt, but he was stubborn. He knew it wouldn’t be easy for Lance to open up, but he wouldn’t give up, because he cared about him a lot.

As for Lance, there was still this weird blockage inside him. If there was someone he couldn’t admit all of that to, it was Keith, no matter how much support the other guy showed him. The more time passed, the more Lance wanted Keith to go away, because he represented what happiness meant to Lance. But the Cuban boy didn’t have access to this kind of happiness anymore. Lance was soiled. What if Keith was really interested and they became a couple? Lance probably wouldn’t be able to have intimate contact with him without remembering Iverson’s touch. He felt like it would haunt him for the rest of his life. He couldn’t be loved anymore, he was broken…

“No matter how much you deny it and reject me, I won’t give up on you Lance,” Keith replied after a moment.

Lance didn’t say anything in response and they only stared at each other with anger and stubbornness until Pidge came in. 5 minutes had passed already.

“I’ll be back. Take care of yourself,” Keith replied.

Lance hated himself for lying to Keith and hurting him, but he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t told anybody about Iverson so far, and there was no going back anyway, so he felt the need to keep up the lie. The harm was already done…

“Wow, I suppose the conversation didn’t go well,” Pidge guessed.

“Pidge… I’m still really tired. Can you leave too?” Lance asked.

“No, can’t do. Hunk asked to make sure you really eat this time,” she replied and gave him a cup of soup.

He started eating it right away, knowing that the sooner he was done, the sooner she was out.

“So… I can see that you feel better than yesterday, but you look different. I’ve seen you sick before, but never so quiet,” she pointed out. “So, who’s your new boyfriend? I can’t believe I haven’t noticed who it might be! It’s seriously killing me, man. Is he from the Garrison or outside?” She asked.

“The Garrison,” he replied, not really thinking.

“Older or younger?” She asked.

“Older,” he replied.

“OK… In which category?” She asked.

“Fighter pilots,” Lance answered. “Pidge, I’m not telling you anything else. Like I said, he likes his privacy.”

“So sad… Why him?” She asked.

“What do you mean?” Lance asked.

“Why did you choose him over Keith?” She asked.

Lance didn’t react for a really long moment. “Because he was the first,” he finally replied.

“The first to confess? I guess that makes sense, but I mean, you and Keith…” She started.

“Pidge, I really don’t wanna talk about it, OK?” He told her.

 “OK… Do you still have fever?” She asked, suddenly reaching for his forehead.

Per instinct, Lance flinched away. They stared at each other for a long moment. That’s when she realized that there really was something more to all of this.

“Who hurt you, Lance? Was it your secret boyfriend?” She asked, suddenly furious.

“Pidge, please leave,” he told her, giving her the almost empty cup of soup.

“No, Lance, I need to know. Who hurt you?” she insisted.

“Leave,” Lance repeated, more serious.

“Lance, I’m not leaving…” she started.

“Leave!” he yelled this time.

She was shocked for a moment but didn’t insist anymore. Before she closed the door, she turned to look at him.

“I’m just trying to help,” she said, and then she was gone.

After that, he didn’t feel anything anymore, but guilt.

He had lied to them and pushed them away.

It was all his fault that he was alone now.

 

—

 

Lance went back to bed right away but couldn’t fall back asleep. When the door opened again minutes alter, he thought it might be Pidge again or maybe Hunk.

“Leave me alone,” he grumbled in his pillow.

Then, the laugh that resounded in his room afterwards made him sit up on his bed quickly. This was his worst nightmare… This couldn’t be real…

But he soon realized that it was.

There, in front of his door, stood Iverson, who closed the door behind him and locked it. He walked slowly towards Lance as he removed his belt.

“No no no no …” Lance let out, a deep fear taking a hold of his body. He tried to get out of the bed, but Iverson grabbed him by the neck and brutally pushed him back down on the bed.

“No! Help!” Lance screamed, terrified and crying his eyes out already.

Iverson caressed his cheek gently, which disturbed Lance deeply.

“I really love that expression on your face, Lance, and your broken voice…” Iverson told him with a loud moan at the end. “Don’t worry, no one will hear us. All the building staff and the students are at the mandatory annual security presentation in the auditorium.”

“Please… Please, leave me alone,” lance pleaded.

Iverson only smiled in response, the hand that wasn’t around Lance’s throat already making its way under his shirt. But then, there was a notification on Lance’s cellphone. Iverson’s attention was taken away from Lance for a second. An evil smile appeared on his lips then, confusing Lance.

“Mr. Kogane…” Iverson started, and Lance felt his heart skip a beat at the name. “He really cares about you. Do you know how he got expelled the first time?”

Lance didn’t reply, only continued to try and fight against Iverson’s hold, even if it seemed like a lost battle already.

“Answer me!” Iverson demanded then in an angry voice that made Lance suddenly cower in fear.

“I-I heard that he was the one who made you blind from one eye,” Lance stuttered quickly.

“Yes, he surely did,” Iverson agreed with an unreadable expression. “Contrarily to you, he fought back and won. You… You were much easier to dominate,” Iverson said strangling Lance even more.

Lance had a hard time to breathe now.

“Please…” he pleaded.

“Oh, I have an idea…” Iverson told him with a crazy smile.

Iverson’s hand that was under his shirt moved away, and the older man reached for his own phone in his back pocket. He put it on Lance’s bedside table and did something on it that Lance couldn’t see. But the Cuban boy knew he needed to get way from Iverson at all cost. If he didn’t, he would be…. He would be raped again. Iverson didn’t seem fazed at all by Lance’s desperate hits, scratches and pushes against him. The older man was too strong, and Lance was weak.

“I’ll make you pay for that bursary with your body until you become all submissive…” he told Lance then, already forcefully pushing down Lance’s pants.

Lance’s screams and pleads only seemed to make Iverson hungrier.

“I wanted to make Keith pay for my eye, but I guess you’ll be payment enough. If he cares so much, maybe we should tell him about how I took everything he wanted, how I made someone he cares about suffer,” Iverson said as he pushed down his own pants and underwear next.

Lance was crying and fighting harder. He was reliving this nightmare again, but this time was worse. They were in his room, one of his safe places now. He also felt like he knew it would happen again, like he had let it happen. Moving too much for Iverson’s liking, the older man took Lance’s hips to hold him in place.

 

*******

(start)

 

And suddenly, Iverson was inside him again. Lance screamed and sobbed loudly when Iverson started to move back and forth inside him. Then, the older man put one of his big thumb in his mouth, so deep Lance almost choked on it. Lance instantly bit it hard. Iverson let out a frustrated sound and was about to hit Lance, but he changed plan at the last minute to wrap his hand around Lance’s throat again. Lance couldn’t breathe freely again, limiting his distressed noises.

Iverson didn’t stop moving his dick inside Lance. Harder and harder, as if he gained more pleasure every time he reached deeper inside Lance. The younger man’s hole hadn’t healed yet, and it felt already raw and hurting. But now it was pure torture…

 

(End)

*******

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Iverson stopped moving and instantly put his whole hand on Lance’s mouth, looking at the door with an annoyed expression. Lance looked at the door too, hopeful, maybe...

Another knock on the door.

“Lance? My name is Takashi Shirogane, I just wanted to talk with you if you don’t mind,” Shiro asked.

When Lance’s eyes went back to Iverson, the man was smiling wickedly. He put a finger on his own lips, instructing the younger man to stay silent, then leaned down.

“You wouldn’t want to be found in this position, would you?”

 

*******

(start)

 

Iverson cruelly pushed his dick inside Lance again, restarting his brutal thrusts inside him. Lance was horrified, he felt sick…

 

(end)

*******

 

“I know we don’t know each other well, but I’d still like to have a word with you,” Shiro added.

Lance barely contained his screams. It hurt so bad. It was too much. He didn’t know... He didn’t know if he wanted to scream or not. Would it even change anything with Iverson’s hand on his mouth? Probably not.

“I’ll come by another time then. Stay safe,” Shiro said.

Lance wanted to be saved, but it was too late now…

There were many people trying to help him.

But he was already too far gone…

Wasn’t he?


	9. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Lance finally tries to get help, however Iverson has other plans for him.
> 
> Here's the 9th chapter! I had to post it early this week because I'll be really busy for the next week. It's also a double chapter, because I'll probably only post the 10th chapter by June 7th (June 9th at the lattest). 
> 
> Don't let the title of this chapter fool you, Lance's nightmare still hasn't reached its climax... 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Rape/non-con -> Every part between "*** (start)" and "(end) ***" contains explicit content.

Lance laid bare on his bed for a while after Iverson left. The only thing that made him move was when he received another text message. He reached for his phone automatically. There was one message from Keith saying that he cared a bout him and assured him he would keep fighting… Of course, he would, Keith was stubborn and a natural fighter. Lance hated himself for lying to Keith and saying those hurtful things to him, he didn’t deserve it at all, but Keith was too close to breaking his walls. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

The other text, the most recent one, was from Hunk, asking him if he had gone to book an appointment with the Garrison’s psychologist. This simple text was all Lance needed in that moment honestly. He felt so wrecked and broken. There was no going back now, and Iverson’s visit had left him in an even more miserable state than he was before. Lance knew… He knew that worse awaited him, especially if he kept this all secret. Since he needed this whole thing to remain unrevealed, he had to look for ways to get through this. So, he put on some clothes and went out of his room.

This was his last hope.

It didn’t take long to get there. Lance knocked on the door to the psychologist office. The door opened immediately.

“Hi, do you have an appointment?” the psychologist asked.

She was a beautiful woman with a gentle smile and really curly hair barely reaching her shoulders.

“No,” Lance answered.

“If you want to have an appointment, you have to go to the front desk of the building. The secretary will do an evaluation of your needs and book you an appointment accordingly,” the psychologist explained.

At this point, Lance was too tired. It was too much to process. He just wanted to talk, try to make things easier, and keep on hanging onto life…

“I-I can’t. I need to talk to you now,” Lance insisted.

The psychologist looked around. “Alright, the other student isn’t here yet, so I can give you 5 minutes, OK?”

Lance smiled. It wasn’t much, but he needed it. These few minutes, they were important to him.

“So, what’s your name? And what brings you here?” the psychologist asked as they took place on chairs in front of one another.

“My name is Lance McClain. And… I’m in pain,” Lance started, hesitantly.

“OK, Lance. Could you tell me what kind of pain you feel?” The psychologist asked.

“Physical, mental… Everything hurts,” Lance said.

“Do you think you might have a physical condition that affects you physically and mentally?” She asked.

Her tone was worried, but calm. It was appeasing.

“No. I know the cause. It’s not an illness,” Lance replied.

“And what is the cause?” she asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Lance said, turning his gaze away.

“OK, don’t worry, we’ll come back to that when you’re ready. Do you have any way to help yourself? Activities, hobbies, that could make you feel better?”

“I don’t know. I feel like… Like it’s too late now,” Lance admitted.

“Do you think you can tell me why it would be too late?” The psychologist asked.

Lance shook his head in answer.

“There’s another question I have to ask you now. I ask you to be completely honest with me,” she started.

Lance had been relatively calm during their conversation, but now he felt growingly anxious. He felt too vulnerable right now.

“Ok,” he agreed anyway.

“Do you have the desire to hurt yourself?” She asked.

“No,” he replied simply.

“This is good, Lance. Now… Do you have any suicidal thoughts?” She asked then.

He didn’t reply right away. This question seemed to repeat itself in his mind a few times. He remembered Iverson’s words, his awful touch… Memories of the past few days, how Iverson had completely broken him. His mind was a mess, his feelings were too, and his body didn’t feel like his own anymore.

He wanted this nightmare to end, and honestly, he had thought about all the ways he could make it stop.

He had thought about ending his life.

“I… I don’t know. Yes?” he replied hesitantly.

“I see… In this case, I’m supposed to call external professional help. However, I want you to feel comfortable and safe with that,” she started.

“I don’t want to…” He replied, anxiety still growing.

She noticed his growing panic, so she reacted before it became out of control.

“Hey, Lance, it’s Ok, I won’t call them unless you want to or I feel like you might be a danger to yourself. Like I said, the fact that you reached out to me today is positive. So, do you think you could hold on until tomorrow? I’ll schedule an urgent appointment for you and we can talk more.”

Lance thought about it for a moment. It was less than 24 hours.

“I can do that… But I’m under disciplinary action, can we meet during class hours?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure, would 1:30 pm, during third period, be good for you?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Now, tonight I want you to spend time with your friends or do anything that can help get your mind off of what hurts you so much, is that alright?” she asked with a warm smile.

He smiled softly and nodded in response. He could do that. He could get through this.

“See you tomorrow, Lance,” she told him as he left her office.

“Thank you,” he told her.

 

-

 

Lance took a nap as soon as he got back to his room. He was awakened only a few minutes later, when Hunk came by. As soon as he felt himself wake up and the presence of someone else beside him, Lance’s breathing quickened and he started to panic.

“Oh, hey, relax, buddy… It’s me, Hunk? You know, your best friend?” Hunk tried in a soft voice.

Lance calmed down slowly at Hunk’s voice. It wasn’t Iverson, he was safe…

“I brought you cake. I know it’s not the best choice with your health and all, but I heard that you fought with Pidge and Keith earlier, so I thought you might want to eat something sweet,” Hunk said.

“Thanks, Hunk,” Lance replied, sitting up, hardly hiding a wince when pain shot up from his ass at the movement.

He took the cake, putting on his act of feeling better. There was no good reason to worry Hunk even more at this point. After a bite or two, he put it aside. Still tasteless…

“Is it not good?” Hunk asked, concerned.

“I don’t know, I can’t taste anything anymore. Maybe I burned my taste buds with all the vomiting,” Lance said.

“Aww, hopefully they’ll be healed soon…  Do you want anything else?”

“No, I’m fine, buddy,” Lance replied.

“OK, I’m gonna head to Pidge’s now, do you want to come?” Hunk offered.

“I don’t know. I mean, we fought earlier, so she might hate me now,” Lance replied.

“Maybe a bit, but you’re like a brother to her now, so I think it’ll be fine,” Hunk told him.

Lance smiled. He thought back to what the psychologist had told him. Seeing his friends might help him too. Even if he had pushed them away, Lance knew that they still cared. He was still scared, he didn’t want any secret to be revealed, ever, but… but he still wanted to live. And that was enough to push him to his feet. He took new clothes from his wardrobe and went into the toilet to change.

Hunk didn’t comment on his strange behaviour, and Lance was glad he didn’t. The Cuban boy wasn’t one to mind changing in the presence of other people, guys or girls alike. Still Hunk did his things and even agreed to lend one of his hoodies to Lance again when his best friend asked his permission this time. After that, they made their way to Pidge’s room.

“It’s good to see you up again, buddy,” Hunk told him.

“Yeah, I just hope I won’t contaminate you all,” Lance said, still deep in his lies.

“Yeah, try not to do that if you can,” Hunk teased him.

Lance had to do this, even if he didn’t want to. If he wanted to get better one day, he had to spend time with his friends tonight, and to do so he had to apologize to Pidge first. When they entered the young girl’s room, Lance noticed Keith was there too. It wasn’t a surprise, but Lance didn’t feel ready to face him yet. What made him feel a little better with this whole situation though was that neither Pidge or Keith looked angry at him. They even looked relieved.

“Hey, hum… Sorry?” He greeted them hesitantly.

“I’m sorry too,” Pidge replied right away. “I shouldn’t have insisted.”

“Me too,” Keith said. “It’s good to have you back. Wanna play a game?” He motioned to the console and the TV by Pidge’s bed.

Clearly, neither Keith or Pidge would let this go, but for now there was a silent agreement between Lance and them that they would not cause any problem for the night.

“I’m gonna win this time, Samurai,” Lance replied with a competitive smile.

“Don’t be so confident, Sharpshooter,” Keith told him.

And for a few hours, it felt like they were back to their old selves, like their life was the same as a week ago., peaceful and fun. Only towards the end, Lance and Keith’s eyes met for a long moment. No matter what was tearing Lance apart, no matter the despair and pain he felt, he still had deep feelings for Keith. He still hoped they could have a future together. Lance couldn’t handle the intensity of his feelings. After all, this hope was delusive, Lance felt like he would always remain only a shadow of himself with what had broken him in the past few days.

Keith deserved better.

“I have to go now,” Lance said then, standing up.

“We still have time before curfew,” Pidge tried.

“I’m really tired already. I guess the virus’ effects aren’t completely gone yet,” he explained as he made his way to the door.

“Lance… Stay,” Keith said then, almost pleadingly.

It hurt Lance. He wished things were different, but there was no going back in time. He remembered how he how he idealized true love and… and losing his virginity with someone really dear to him. Iverson had destroyed every hope he had to ever experience such a thing. He had brutally stolen Lance’s virginity and he had broken him so badly that Lance would definitely fear intimate contacts for the rest of his life.

“See you tomorrow, guys,” Lance told them and exited the room.

Keith wanted to run after him, but he was scared that Lance would react even worse this time around, that he would push him away even more.

When Lance was gone, his three friends shared a concerned look.

Lance might not want their help, but that wouldn’t stop them.

They would find out who hurt him and make them pay.

They would get their favourite goofball back.

Lance would find happiness again.

No matter what.

 

-

 

Lance woke up with a jolt at 4:30 am. Even with the pills, the nightmares still haunted him. They were all similar, twisted memories of Iverson raping him. Lance was dripping in sweat and felt as disgusting as he had felt these past few days.

He needed a shower, like a long hot shower. So, he went out of his room and to the showers. He knew it was too soon, but anyway there was a low chance he would come across a teacher at this hour.

When he entered the shower, Lance felt the hot water wash over him. No matter what, he always seemed to find some kind of peace under the water. It reminded him of home, where he lived near the sea with his family. He would often spend his days at the beach, swimming until the sun would set. Lance smiled at the memory. Even if Lance was the most vulnerable in a shower, because of the small comfort it brought him, he considered it one of the last safe places he had on the Garrison property…

And then, he heard the door of the bathroom being locked. He wouldn’t have noticed the sound if he had had his head under the shower at that moment. His heart was already beating fast in his chest. The sound of a lock was something to fear in his mind now, and when he heard steps stop in front of his shower, he knew he was right to fear this sound.

“W-Who’s there?” he asked, terrified.

“Mr. McClain? I saw you enter the bathroom. You know it’s a little too early to shower,” Mr. Stevens replied.

“Sorry, Mr. Stevens, I didn’t feel too well…” Lance replied, feeling a deep relief that it wasn’t Iverson.

This small comfort only lasted a few seconds before the curtain of his shower was pushed aside in a swift movement. Everyone liked Mr. Stevens, Lance liked him too. He was a man way less intimidating verbally and physically than Iverson, but still really in shape. He was also really good with the students and in charge of the extracurricular activities. But now Lance knew it was all an act.

“What the…? You can’t…” Lance started, angry, but uneasy, trying to cover himself.

“Iverson told me you were really… enjoyable,” the man said then, taking off his shirt as he made his way into the shower with Lance.

Realizing what was that meant, Lance tried to escape again, but the narrow space of the showers made his desperate try futile again.

“No, please no!” he yelled, as he was brutally pushed back to the wall.

Lance hit his head pretty hard, making him suddenly really dizzy and confused. Stevens took this opportunity to turn him so he was facing the wall.

“Please, stop! Let me go!” Lance pleaded weakly has he slowly got out of his dazed state.

The professor had a hand on Lance’s head, maintaining him in place as he prepared himself.

“Continue to beg, it turns me on,” Stevens murmured in his ear.

“No…” Lance sobbed.

 

***

(start)

 

And then pain again. Lance cried and begged and fought vainly against Stevens… But there was no stopping the quick movements of Stevens’ dick inside him. Lance realized, through this third agonizing experience, that the pain was always the same awful sensation that ran deeper than simply physical suffering. What hurt the most was his soul. It had become fragile and cracked over the past days, but now it was breaking down with every push inside him.

Lance’s scream broke and resounded all around him. And after too long, Lance was left on the ground of the shower, cum all over him, a light flow of blood escaping his ass, and a cut on the back of his head, probably from the hit on his head.

 

(end)

***

 

He had enough.

Lance had reached his limit.

He couldn’t continue like this.

He had dreamed all his life to become a pilot. He had done everything he could and finally received a bursary after all his hard work. But now… Now this bursary felt like a curse. Did he really want to become a pilot anymore? Honestly, now he just wanted to disappear. He just wanted to go back in time and do everything to prevent what had happened. But there was no going back.

He lied there for a long moment, confusion, exhaustion and dizziness destroying all motivation he could’ve possibly mustered to get out of there. The shower was cold again when he was taken out of his daze forcefully by a silhouette appearing in front of him.

“You’re late, Mr. McClain,” Iverson told him.

Lance was shivering. He lifted his gaze to the man towering over him who had a satisfied smile on his lips. Stevens was there too. Iverson stepped in the shower and turned the water off. Lance felt hopeless, emotionless, lifeless…

“That attitude won’t do, Mr. McClain. Come on now, show some emotion, would you,” Iverson said as he took the young man’s chin and forced him to look in his eyes, but Lance remained the same.

It seemed to anger Iverson even more. “Put on some clothes,” he demanded.

Lance was disconnected from reality in that moment, the head injury not helping at all, but his limbs were moving slowly. When he was done, they took him out of the bathroom. Lance didn’t know what time it was now, but he didn’t really care anymore. The only thing that hinted it was not yet 7 am yet was the emptiness of the hallways. They brought him to the stairs and Lance got suddenly back to reality when his mind realized what they were probably planning.

“Please…” He said softly, his eyes to the ground as he was dragged down the stairs.

“Come on, I know you can do better than that, Lance,” Iverson told him, visibly enjoying Lance’s reaction.

With each step down, Lance’s anxiety grew. No matter how broken and hopeless he felt in that moment, he knew that once in the basement it would really be the end for him. If they didn’t kill him, there would probably be nothing left of him to retrieve after whatever would happen down there.

“No, please… I don’t want to…” Lance tried again, louder and fighting harder.

“There it is. How can we resist to that?” Iverson replied.

They reached the basement too soon. His fears, his anxiety, his desperation… They were back, a shadow of what they once were, but still there.

But he was helpless alone.

As he was forcefully dragged to an empty room at the end of the basement, Lance wondered why he had been so stubborn on keeping this all a secret. There had still been hope then, there was still hope now even, right?

And again, it had all been his fault in the end. He had let that happened.

They stripped Lance of his clothes, leaving him completely naked. Lance was panicking, kicking, hitting, trying anything to free himself from their merciless grip on him, but it did almost nothing good for him, only making them even more excited at the sight of the vulnerable struggling boy before them. With horror, Lance’s left foot was cuffed to a pole in the middle of the room. It was dark there even with the small light above them. And it was dirty and dusty. 

“Don’t do this,” Lance pleaded, voice trembling with fear, on his knees before the two older men. “I-I’ll be a good student, I promise. I won’t cause trouble or tell anybody. Please, just let me go.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Lance, we’ll let you go,” Stevens said then, with a sweet tone that made Lance shiver. “But before that you’ll stay here for a while.”

“Why?” Lance asked.

“The rooms and offices are really close to one another upstairs, so there are things that we can’t do ‘safely’ you see. And also, after we’re done with you, we need to keep you here until the evidences of abuse are gone. After that, you’ll be free to go,” Iverson said.

“My friends… they’ll notice I’m gone,” Lance tried.

“You hit your head pretty badly in the shower, so I brought you to the hospital. The doctors wanted to make sure you were OK, so they kept you there a couple of days,” Stevens explained casually.

This guy was a really good actor. Lance had no chance. He cried in despair.

“What are you gonna do to me?” He asked, eyes to the ground now.

“That’s a surprise,” Iverson replied with a crazy smile.


	10. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Lance is missing and his friends are searching for him...
> 
> I was supposed to post a new chapter only Thursday (because I'm really busy and due to medical reasons as well), but it turns out I had a bit of time and energy to review this half-chapter. I know it's small, I'll post the other half on Thursday or Friday this week. 
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter! 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!

 

“Did one of you see Lance today?” Keith asked, visibly worried, joining Hunk and Pidge as they made their way to the cafeteria.

“No, we were just talking about that. He wasn’t in English class, and by your reaction I guess he wasn’t in Physics either,” Pidge said.

“When I woke up he had already left the room, and I woke up super early this morning because I wanted to make fresh croissants to cheer him up,” Hunk explained.

“He doesn’t answer his cellphone. What do we do?” Keith asked.

“We should probably talk to a teacher,” Hunk answered as the trio came to a stop near the cafeteria.

“Alright, but who?” Pidge asked. “We can’t tell Iverson, that’s for sure. I feel like he might have something to do with Lance feeling worse every day for the past two weeks.”

“Yeah, that would make sense. But what happened? What did Iverson do to him?” Hunk asked, anxious.

There was silence for a moment. Keith couldn’t tell them without Lance’s consent. This was part of gaining his trust.

“What are you three talking about?” Mr. Stevens asked them then, taking the trio by surprise.

“Hi, Mr. Stevens, we were wondering if you knew why our friend, Lance McClain, didn’t come to class this morning,” Hunk asked politely.

“Oh, the lanky young cadet with brown hair and tanned skin, right? He is at the hospital right now. I found him with a concussion in the bathroom this morning. The poor young man, he was unconscious under freezing water,” Mr. Stevens informed them.

All the worries they had doubled then.

“Is he gonna be alright? Please, tell me he’s gonna be fine,” Hunk asked.

“How did it happen? Was he hurt anywhere else?” Keith asked.

“Was it severe? When will he be back?” Pidge asked.

Stevens smiled at them and looked a bit overwhelmed by their reaction.

“Calm down, you three. He’s going to be just fine. The doctors said that he didn’t seem to have any aftereffects or trauma, and he’ll be back in a few days. They only wanted to make sure he was completely alright, since he’s studying to become a space pilot. You’ll see him back soon enough,” Mr. Stevens reassured them.

“Can we go visit him at least?” Keith asked then.

“That would be unnecessary since he’ll be back by mid-week next week,” Stevens replied. “I’ll keep you updated personally if anything happens.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stevens,” Hunk told him.

“Now, stop worrying about him, he’ll be just fine,” Stevens told them again

They all agreed to his last advice, and Stevens walked away with a warming smile. As soon as he was out of reach though, the three teenagers dropped their act.

“I don’t trust him,” Keith said then.

“Me neither,” Pidge agreed.

“Yeah, it was kind of weird,” Hunk agreed.

“I have an idea,” Keith told them.

 

—

 

Iverson and Stevens left Lance hours ago. The Cuban boy still didn’t know what they planned on doing to him, and it terrified him. As soon as they had left, Lance had let himself fall on the ground. He had cried for a long time.

He was scared and miserable. He should have done something, talked to his friends, got real help… He was so angry at himself for not doing so. And no matter the men’s reassurances, Lance knew there would be nothing left of him once he was let out of the basement.

But now he knew… He knew that he couldn’t just give up. Maybe he would die down there, or go through so many terrible things he would never be the same again, but once they had broken him completely, they would seek out another victim. Lance might not live through this, but he decided he would fight and still try to make it out and ensure no one else would go through the same hell as him.

So, he tried to get free from the cuff around his left ankle. After a few long minutes, he realized that there really was no giving in, the cuffs were really solid and Lance was weak. He looked around him, trying to find a way to get out of here. The only thing in this room was the pole in the middle of it. Otherwise, it was completely empty. Lance cursed and yelled in rage.

There had to be a way out. There had to…

“Help! Somebody! Please help!” He screamed desperately for what felt like the hundredth time.

Only silence answered him again. It was weird to be in such a silent place in a school in the middle of the day. He really hated it…

He wanted to see his family and friends again, to see their smile, and hear their laughs…

He already missed their voices, their presence, their warmth…

Tears fell down his eyes again.

He was so cold.

 

—

 

“Thank you so much, Shiro. We really appreciate your help,” Pidge said, sitting in the back of Shiro’s car beside Hunk.

“I can’t believe we’re in the same car as Takashi Shirogane. If Lance were here, he would be freaking out. He’s a big fan of yours,” Hunk told him.

“Well, I’m glad I can help you guys,” Shiro replied.

The night before, as soon as the classes ended, Keith had met with Shiro and asked him to take them to see Lance at the nearest hospital, and, of course, he had agreed. This whole situation was really unnerving, and Shiro wanted to help his mentee and his friends. He wanted to help Lance. Luckily, they were now a Saturday, which made things easier for the three students, as they weren’t allowed out of the Garrison’s property during the week.

It only took them a few minutes to get to the next town, where the closest hospital was. Once in, Keith, Hunk and Pidge followed Shiro as he made his way to the front desk.

“Hi, how may I help you today, Sir?” The receptionist asked him.

“Hi, we’re looking for a friend of ours who was brought here for a concussion yesterday. His name is Lance McClain,” Shiro said.

“Lance McClain? I don’t think any person of this name was admitted yesterday. Let me search through my database for a minute,” she said, already tapping on her keyboard.

After a few minutes, she called a few numbers, asking about Lance, but she didn’t seem to receive a satisfying answer.

“Sorry, the last time we admitted Lance McClain here was a year ago. I called the surrounding hospitals, but they didn’t admit Mr. McClain either in the past week. Are you sure he was sent to the hospital?” She asked.

They all looked at each other, confused.

“Stevens lied,” Pidge said then.

“He’s in with Iverson…” Keith added.

“What do we do?” Hunk asked, anxious.

“We need to find him,” Shiro said then, serious.

Keith had a really bad feeling about all this. If Iverson and Stevens both had hurt Lance… Keith didn’t know what he would be capable of.

But there was something he was sure of, and that was that he would give his entire support to help Lance.

He would do anything to be there for him, to make the nightmares go away.

Lance was too important to him.

Keith didn’t want to lose him.

Just thinking about it…

It terrified him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! :)
> 
> You can also follow me/send me asks/message me on Tumblr : Prettygoo-d


	11. Torment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!! 
> 
> Lance's hell in the Garrison's basement.
> 
> So here's the other half-chapter! It's pretty explicit and really awful... I'm sorry? 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Rape/non-con/Suicidal thoughts -> Everything after *** contains explicit content.

Lance didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but he woke up with a jolt when Iverson and Stevens entered the room. Lance instinctively backed away as much as he could, trying to cover his nudity with his own limbs.

Iverson smiled at Lance’s reaction.

“Did you sleep well, Lance? You look tired,” Mr. Stevens asked, but didn’t wait for Lance’s answer. “Oh, I talked to your friends, told them about the concussion and the hospital, so you don’t have to worry about them searching for you.”

“Fuck you…” Lance muttered under his breath.

The two men before him stopped moving then, surprised by Lance’s words.

“Looks like you still got a bit of fight left in you, uh?” Iverson said as he came in front of him his back to him, facing the door.

Lance realized then that they had brought some kind of equipment. Iverson and Stevens started placing said equipment across the room. Stevens was on the side. He opened a suitcase with some wicked instruments in them. Stevens took out a pig mask and put it on, and then he gave one to Iverson.

This was sick, it made Lance feel even more like he was in a nightmare. Every time he thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.

With dread, he realized that Iverson was preparing a camera on a tripod just in front of the door.

“Is it ready? I can’t wait to try these awesome toys on him,” Stevens said, impatient as he took his clothes off.

Iverson did so too, freeing his already hard dick. “It’s filming… now,” he announced then as a red light appeared on the camera. “Hi there, Lance.”

Lance looked at the man on the other side of the camera with fire in his eyes. He had enough of all this.

“Oh, come on, don’t make this face, you know you like it,” Iverson told him.

“Go to hell…” Lance replied with a small voice that didn’t fit his words or his expression.

Lance wanted to fight, but he knew what the older men could do. No matter how much he hated them, how much he wanted them dead, and how much he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of his submission, he was still terribly scared of them.

Iverson started walking towards Lance. “Now, say hi to Keith. We’re making this video just for him.”

The expression on Lance’s face changed to fear then. Keith would see this… Iverson’s words destroyed all fight Lance had left in him, as if it all had been for nothing. Lance knew Keith probably had a good idea of what had happened with Iverson, yet it still remained unclear as long as Lance didn’t say anything. He didn’t want Keith to see him in this miserable state, being soiled by Iverson and Stevens’ touches, tortures, dicks and cums…

“That’s more like it,” Iverson said, visibly satisfied by Lance’s troubled expression. The older man looked at the suitcase near them and pointed to one of the objects it contained. “Give me that one.”

Stevens obeyed with a jiggle. “You’re starting hard,” he commented.

“He likes it rough,” Iverson replied, taking said tool in his hand, and looking at it with interest.

 

 

***

 

 

Lance tugged on the cuff desperately when he realized what this was. It was a long metal rod with a ring on one end. Iverson walked slowly to him. Lance tried to move away, not caring about the metal cuff scratching his ankle bloody. It was hopeless, his movements were too limited. Lance pleaded for them not to do this.

“Come hold him in place,” Iverson demanded to Stevens who did so right away, pining the younger man down on his back, holding him by his wrist and forcing him to be fully exposed to Iverson.

Iverson placed himself in front of Lance and took the younger man’s dick in his hands and stroke it a few times to make him hard. Lance’s own body reacted against his will and gave in to Iverson’s stimulating touch. When it was hard enough for Iverson’s liking, he pushed the rod in Lance’s dick mercilessly. Lance screamed in agony. The pain was unreal.

Finally, Iverson placed the ring around his dick’s head.

“You turn me on so much when you scream,” Iverson told him with a needy moan.

Lance barely had time to beg for them to stop again before Iverson pushed himself inside him. Lance sobbed in defeat and pain as Iverson fucked him.

After Iverson, it was Stevens’ turn. Neither of them came, as if they were only tasting him, savouring every bit of torment they put him through. They both enjoyed Lance’s wrecked state.

Their wicked laughs, their moans, the sound of skin slapping against skin… It would haunt Lance for the rest of his life, which might be the only few days to come.

After an extremely long moment, they finally left him panting on the ground. Lance was suffering. The rod in his dick was hurting him a lot, and he knew that there would be even more pain awaiting him. He wanted it all to stop. He wanted…

He wanted to die.

“Now give me that one,” Iverson told Stevens, pointing to another object in the suitcase near them.

The new object in Iverson’s hand was dark and had the form of a dick with a huge protuberance towards the bottom of it followed by a round flat part. It was a butt plug. It was big and it scared Lance. It wouldn’t fit in him… It would tear him apart.

“No… Please don’t…” He pleaded vainly.

Iverson dropped down on top of him and forced the younger man on his stomach. Lance was fighting weakly and begging him not to do this, but it only aggravated the situation. His legs were then forced apart, his hole being on full display. Lance braced himself for the worse.

Iverson slowly pushed the toy in, and Lance screamed his voice raw as he tried futilely to get away. Every centimetre of the butt plug made it hurt even more, and Lance felt his hole stretch in ways it wasn’t supposed to until he felt it tear up inside and blood escaped it.

Lance sobbed in defeat and pain for a few long seconds. He whined in fear as Stevens moved away and came back with leather bondage tools. Iverson was still holding him in place out of Lance’s field of view. Stevens gave one of the tools to Iverson. Lance’s arms were then forcefully strapped together behind his back. Lance was pretty flexible, but it was still awful. His bonded arms made his back curve uncomfortably and it hurt his filled ass. As Iverson was finishing bonding Lance’s arms, Stevens put a gag in the younger man’s mouth and secured it behind his head. The gag had a ring that stretched Lance’s mouth uncomfortably.

He cried and drooled shamefully.

Iverson and Stevens stood over him for a long moment, enjoying the view. Then Iverson took Lance by his hair and dragged him closer to the camera.

“Isn’t he beautiful like this? Dominated and exposed just for us,” Iverson said to the camera, forcing Lance to face it even if he closed his eyes because of the pain on his scalp and in his whole body. “Now let’s see what his mouth can handle.”

Before Lance had time to prepare himself, Iverson’s dick was pushed deep in his mouth. The older man moaned in pleasure and moved back and forth in his mouth, going so deep Lance almost chocked on every stroke down his throat. It lasted a few long minutes before Iverson finally came in his mouth and face.

Lance thought he would have a small break, but Stevens’ dick was shoved in his mouth right after. Stevens didn’t move away when he came though, he maintained Lance’s head in place and came deep in Lance’s throat. The younger man was forced to swallow.

Stevens removed the gag after a moment.

“You did well, Lance. This mouth of yours was wonderful to fuck…” Stevens said as he caressed Lance’s wet lips with his thumb. Lance moved away, and Stevens only smiled in answer.

Lance looked away as tears fell down his cheeks again. “P-please…”

“Continue to beg, Lance, this as just begun,” Iverson said from behind him.

“N-no… Please… Please, stop!” he pleaded as he felt Iverson’s cruel fingers on his ass again.

Suddenly, the plug was taken out of his ass. Lance chocked a sob at the awful feeling. It burned, but he was also glad that this atrocious object wasn’t inside him anymore. This small relief didn’t last as Iverson’s pushed himself inside him.

“This time, I’ll make you come Lance,” he murmured in Lance’s ear in between moans, one of his hand snaking to the younger man’s throat to hold him in place.

Lance cried out as Iverson’s other hand moved to his dick and tugged on the rod to pull it out slowly. Iverson was fucking him at the same time, making Lance’s body feel chaotic. The rod finally came out completely. 

“I can’t be left out of this,” Stevens said then, impatient.

Lance’s hole was stretched further as the two men forced their dicks in him at the same time. He screamed in agony. This surpassed the plug, the rod or anything he had felt so far.

When the two men finally came inside him, to his horror, Lance came as well. For a moment, he felt deeply disgusted with himself, horrified by the fact that he had been raped repetitively and that he had even came from it… The pain, the revulsion, the panic, the hopelessness… These overwhelming emotions were soon changed for emptiness. And suddenly he didn’t feel anything anymore. He was even more disconnected from reality than he had been in the shower the day before.

He wasn’t just broken anymore. His soul… His whole person…They couldn’t be repaired anymore. There was nothing left.

Stevens and Iverson continued to play with him for a bit, but he couldn’t react anymore.

He had been completely annihilated from the inside out.

Words, touches, nothing reached him anymore.

He was now an empty carnal envelope.

A wrecked hollow fucktoy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> You can also follow me/send me an ask or a pm on Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


	12. Recording

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!! 
> 
> Lance is still missing. Iverson brings Keith into Lance's nightmare. 
> 
> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS TRIGGERING CONTENT AND MIGHT HAVE EXPLICIT PARTS IN IT. 
> 
> Anyway, the end is near! I hope you'll like this chapter. Please leave kudos and comments :)
> 
> Thanks!!

None of them had seen Lance for 3 whole days. Keith was losing it, and everyone was really starting to let anxiety and worry take over their minds and bodies. The more time passed, the more they dreaded the worst.

They all felt guilty in some way. If they had reacted earlier, if they had seen the signs. Pidge and Hunk didn’t know exactly what Lance had possibly been through, but they still felt like something terrible had happened to Lance and they could have prevented it. Keith was beating himself up the most. Shiro was trying hard to tell him nothing was lost as long as Lance hadn’t been found. But it was hard on all of them.

They had decided to follow Stevens and Iverson around, knowing that they certainly had something to do with Lance’s disappearance. They all kept the others updated on where the two teachers were and what they did. After a day of following them around, they found no clue at all. They kept following them even during their classes, judging that skipping a few classes to find Lance was the best decision. Shiro didn’t completely agree but understood them and supported them through this.

And then on the fourth day, the trio was called to Iverson’s office. They all knew why. Skipping more than two whole school days without any reason was really bad. Once in Iverson’s office, he gave them the usual speech about responsibilities and the possible consequences of missing classes. If they missed another class, they would be subject to disciplinary action and a note to their record would be added regarding this misdeed. Keith couldn’t care less, but it made Pidge and Hunk anxious.

After Iverson’s speech, Pidge and Hunk were excused, but it was another story for Keith.

“I can’t stay alone with you anymore, have you forgotten that?” Keith said, hardly holding himself from jumping on Iverson and beating the crap out of him right there right now.

“That’s why I invited Mr. Stevens to be part of our conversation,” Iverson told him as Stevens made his way in.

Now, Keith was feeling really uneasy. They were the two people they had been following for the past days, the people possibly involved with Lance’s disappearance. Mr. Stevens closed the door and moved towards Keith who was still sitting on the chair in front of Iverson. The older man nodded at Stevens who suddenly grabbed Keith’s arms from behind to secure him in place.

“Don’t touch me!” Keith yelled as he struggled against Stevens grip. “If you do anything to me, Shiro will know!”

“Yeah, I know that.” Iverson answered, which made Keith uneasy. “Mr. Kogane, you’ve been a pain in my ass since you entered the Garrison. And after what you did to my eye, I had to make you pay for that somehow. It’s weird how things played out perfectly for me.”

Pure dread filled Keith then. He stopped struggling.

“What have you done?” He asked, voice full of anger, but also tinted with fear.

Iverson turned to him with a crazy smile, and then pushed a button on his phone placed in front of him on his desk.

 _“I’ll make you pay for that bursary with your body until you become all submissive…”_ he heard Iverson say as Lance screamed and pleaded for him to let him go.

Keith’s heart stopped, he couldn’t breathe… It was true. Iverson… This monster had hurt Lance. He had…

 _“I wanted to make Keith pay for my eye, but I guess you’ll be payment enough. If he cares so much, maybe we should tell him about how I took everything he wanted, how I made someone he cares about suffer,”_ Iverson said.

No… No!

It was his fault…

Lance was crying over the recording.

And suddenly, he was screaming in pain, and sobbing loudly. Lance’s screams were muffled a few seconds later.

Keith felt nauseated. The sounds… It was horrible, they were so broken… He wished it would stop. He wanted to destroy this awful recording. The distressed noises Lance made, Iverson’s moans and his sickening words… They were being engraved in his brain, causing him so much despair it hurt physically.

Then, Keith heard a knock on the door over the recording. Sounds of movement stopped.

There was another knock on the door.

 _“Lance? My name is Takashi Shirogane, I just wanted to talk with you if you don’t mind,”_ Keith barely heard Shiro ask.

 _“You wouldn’t want to be found in this position, would you?”_ Iverson murmured to Lance then.

The sounds of Lance muffled contained noises hurt Keith so much. This weird pain in his chest was like nothing else he had ever experienced before. Iverson let the record continue visibly enjoying Keith’s reaction and the despair on his face. Keith could hear Lance’s muffled screams and cries grow louder once Shiro seemed gone. He heard Iverson’s pleasured moans, the sound of skin slammed against skin…

“No!” Keith shouted, finally coming out of his initial shock, his heart breaking and tears falling down his cheeks. “I’ll kill you! I’ll make you pay!” Keith yelled.

Iverson let him shout and struggle for a long moment, only looking at Keith with a satisfied smile on his lips.

Keith wanted to destroy him, to break every single bone in the man’s body. He wanted to punch him until he wouldn’t be recognizable, so Lance wouldn’t have to worry about ever seeing his disgusting face again.

Once Keith had stopped yelling for a moment, Iverson spoke up again, determined to cause the younger man even more despair.

“You should’ve heard him the first time I fucked hi… He screamed your name. It was broken and beautiful, so exciting. Just thinking about it…” Iverson trailed off with a sickening moan.

Keith cried even more, unable to hide his misery and the hurt these words caused him. He then turned his eyes to Stevens who was still holding onto Keith. The other teacher… He couldn’t really be ok with all this…

“Yeah, Lance’s broken screams really are the best,” Stevens added. “Play the video now. I can’t get enough of it.”

No… No, this couldn’t be happening. Keith was hallucinating. This was all a terrible nightmare. He would wake up, and everything would be fine… Lance would be by his side smiling brightly like he had the first week they had spent together.

Iverson put said video on his computer screen and turned it to show it to Keith. The teenager he liked so much was cuffed to a pole in a dirty dark room.

Keith felt bile rise up in his throat.

_“Hi there, Lance.”_

_Lance looked at the man on the other side of the camera with fire in his eyes._

_“Oh, come on, don’t make this face, you know you like it,” Iverson told him._

_“Go to hell…” Lance replied with a small voice that didn’t fit his words or his expression._

_Iverson started walking towards Lance, coming in front of the camera._

The two men were naked and wearing pig masks. This was sick…

_“Now, say hi to Keith. We’re making this video just for him.”_

_The expression on Lance’s face changed to fear then._

_“That’s more like it,” Iverson said, visibly satisfied by Lance’s troubled expression._

Keith turned his gaze away as soon as they started to torture Lance sexually. The sounds were traumatizing enough… He didn’t want to see the horrors they did to him.

_“You turn me on so much when you scream,” Iverson said with a needy moan over the recording._

Their wicked laughs, their moans, the sound of skin slapping against skin… It would haunt Keith for the rest of his life.

The video continued, but then at some point Iverson decided Keith had to watch, so he grabbed Keith’s jaw and forced him to look at the computer screen. Keith didn’t close his eyes in time. He saw Lance being dragged closer to the camera by his hair _._ He was bonded and a gag that had a ring stretched his mouth.

This was… This was like a real-life horror movie. And Keith closed his eyes tightly, unable to watch more. But that didn’t stop the recording.

_“Isn’t he beautiful like this? Dominated and exposed just for us,” Iverson said to the camera. “Now let’s see what his mouth can handle.”_

Keith heard it all. It lasted forever, it was torture…

_“You did well, Lance. This mouth of yours was wonderful to fuck…” Stevens said._

_“P-please…” Lance begged._

_“Continue to beg, Lance, this as just begun,” Iverson told the younger boy._

_“N-no… Please… Please, stop!” Lance pleaded, terror in his voice._

_“This time, I’ll make you come Lance,” Iverson murmured, the words barely audible._

_“I can’t be left out of this,” Stevens said, sounding impatient._

Lance’s screams filled the room again and again. They were ones of agony. They tore Keith’s soul to shreds. Horror-filled images and sounds burnt in his memory.

These two men had hurt one of Keith’s most important people… Keith wanted… No, he _needed_ them dead. He wanted them to suffer even more than they had made Lance suffer. He wanted them to beg him for their lives, to scream with even more terror than Lance had. But he couldn’t do anything. He was stuck on this chair, watching the boy he had feelings for being raped by monsters.

“I’m gonna report you to the police…” Keith said then, voice and face suddenly emotionless, even if tears continued to run down his cheeks.

Iverson laughed. “Who will believe you? And what about your dear Lance? Did you think of him? He’s the only one who could say something… Still, he remained silent. Do you know why? Because I own him now. And what about the trouble it’ll cause him and the humiliation of having been repeatedly raped? I suggest you keep it shut… for his sake, of course,” Iverson said.

Keith couldn’t stop the flow of tears streaming down his cheeks, feeling hopeless and angry. He didn’t care about all that honestly. He would always stay by Lance’s side no matter what. He just wanted Iverson to stop hurting Lance and be punished for his crimes.

Keith remained silent though. He needed to see Lance now, in real life. He needed to hold him close and help him in any way he could. He needed him…

“Did we finally break your spirit, Mr. Kogane?” Iverson asked proudly.

“Where is Lance now? What have you done to him?” Keith breathed, his heart dropping in fear of the man’s answer.

“Stevens just got him out of the basement before he came to my office. Don’t worry, we made sure he ate and drank and that his body is fully healed now, no trace left of the time we spent together. At least, physically…” Iverson replied.

There was silence for a moment, except for the awful sound of their terrible record still playing. Lance didn’t make much sound anymore. And just that was enough to let Keith dread the worst.

“Oh, and just so you know, this video….” Iverson started as he hit the “delete button” in the corner of the screen. “… has been deleted.”

“I wanna go…” Keith said after a few seconds, face still emotionless.

Iverson sighed happily. “Of course, Mr. Kogane, but remember well, don’t say a word.”

Keith didn’t react until Stevens let go of his arms. After that, he stood up slowly and to his own surprise he jumped over the desk and right onto Iverson. He was a good fighter, but now he was acting on instinct and rage alone and it seemed to make him even more agile and powerful. Iverson didn’t expect Keith to jump on him like that, so he fell from his chair. Keith reached out for the first thing that he could use against Iverson. It turned out to be a pencil. Keith didn’t wait and quickly stabbed Iverson in his good eye. The man screamed in agony, but Keith couldn’t enjoy it as he felt Stevens’ presence coming fast behind him. Keith ducked out of the way just as the other man was about to hit him with a chair. The chair broke as it hit Iverson instead. Something shiny caught Keith’s eyes then. A letter opener. He grabbed it and reached Stevens quickly. With an uncontained rage, he stabbed Stevens with it right in the genitals. The man screamed in terror and pain and crumpled to the floor. Keith was left panting and confused, blood on his hands and clothes. He instinctively took Iverson’s cellphone and exited the man’s office before any other teacher or student could reach the scene. Once out, he slowly came back to himself and ran for the dorms with only one thing in mind: to go to Lance.

Just as he turned the corner of the dorm’s hallway, Keith came face to face with Hunk. Seeing a friendly face suddenly made Keith break down in tears again.

“Hey… calm down, dude. What going on? Oh my God, there is so much blood… What happened?” Hunk asked, horrified and worried.

Keith looked up at Hunk, unable to keep his emotions and the information he had just learned for himself. “Iverson… He hurt Lance! It’s all his fault! He showed me a video, Hunk! He showed me…” Keith screamed, voice breaking with the emotion and tears streaming down his face.

Hunk knew this was serious, but he needed to know what had happened exactly. “What did he do to Lance?”

Keith looked at Hunk for a moment, but he couldn’t hold his gaze. His eyes found their way to the ground.

“He… He…” Keith couldn’t say it.

“It’s Ok, buddy, breathe, take your time,” Hunk encouraged him.

“We don’t have time we need to find Lance… You don’t understand…” Keith told him, still in a state of torment, but slowly regaining some sort of countenance thanks to Hunk’s reassuring presence.

“Then, help me understand Keith. I wanna help Lance too, buddy,” Hunk told him.

“Hunk… He raped him…” Keith whispered then, but Hunk heard.

“What?” Hunk asked, visibly in shock at Keith’s words.

When Keith looked back up, Hunk seemed disconnected from reality. “No…” the bigger man breathed, tears pooling in his eyes.

He could almost see Hunk’s brain seeing all the signs they had dismissed for days now. Suddenly, Hunk was running to the closest garbage bin to empty his stomach into it. That’s when Keith received a call.

Seeing the name of the caller, Keith answered right away.

“Lance? Where are you? We need to talk,” Keith said, voice more levelled, but still visibly full of emotions.

Keith’s words reached Hunk, and the big guy lifted his head from the garbage bin to look at Keith, concerned.

That’s when Lance spoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!   
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> You can also follow me/send me asks or messages on Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


	13. HALF-HAPPY ENDING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Here's the Half-Happy Ending you have been waiting for! It's kinda sad though, but kinda not... The second part of this ending is almost the same as the Happy Ending. The Sad Ending will be posted tomorrow. I still haven't written the other endings, but I will do it soon, so they will be posted in the next two weeks hopefully!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it. Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Thanks!!

Stevens passed by during lunch. He had poured half a bucket of cold water on him, roughly scrubbed his skin and hair with a brush and soap and poured the rest of the water on him to rinse him. Lance let him do his things without reacting much. Stevens had also brought clean student clothes to Lance and had freed his ankle when the boy was clean and Stevens was ready to head out. Lance had remained unmoving., lying naked and cold on his side on the ground, staring unfocused at the ground as Stevens talked, his words not registering in Lance’s brain. After Stevens finally left, he stood up and went back slowly to his room. He didn’t meet anyone on the way there, Lunch was already done and the teachers and students were probably all in class already.

Once he reached his room, he went to his study desk and took white papers on which he started writing. He wrote letters to the people he loved, nothing about the pain and horrors he had experienced. These were… farewell letters. He told his loved ones that he was sorry, that he thought it was better this way. He couldn’t cry anymore, couldn’t feel fear or possible regret. The future scared him too much and he felt like he would surely feel pain again. He didn’t want to suffer anymore. He wanted peace, he wanted to stop the nightmare that his life had become.

When the letters were done, Lance left his room and went to the showers. The showers were usually empty at this hour, just like the hallways.

He got there without any problem. He sat in the farthest shower, not turning the water on… Now, Lance had only one thing left to do.

He called Keith.

“Lance? Where are you? We need to talk,” Keith said, weirdly emotive.

Lance couldn’t contain the last bit of emotions that suddenly filled his heart then. He really wanted to talk to him at least one last time. In another reality, maybe they would have been happy together, even just as friends.

“Hey, Mullet,” Lance said with a heavy voice. It was the first time in days he had spoken. “I’m sorry… I lied,” Lance cried, tears starting to flow out of his eyes and voice wavering.

“Lance, please, tell me where you are,” Keith requested, sounding really worried.

“It wasn’t just Iverson, Keith. Stevens too…” Lance said, cut off by a sob.

“I know, Lance… I know, and I wanna help! Just tell me where you are, I’ll be there right away and we can figure this out together, OK?” Keith told him, sounding desperate.

“Don’t tell anyone… I don’t want my family to know,” Lance said.

“We’ll find a way to get through this, Lance, I promise!” Keith pleaded.

“It’s too late.” Lance answered. “Keith, I… I really liked you.”

“I like you too, Lance… So much, so please…” Keith insisted.

“Goodbye, Keith,” Lance told him then.

Lance hung up, ignoring Keith’s screaming over the phone. He turned the water on and then took the replacement blades he had taken from Hunk’s toolkit. Without any hesitation, he sliced his wrists open. It hurt, but in his mind now, living was much more unbearable. There was so much blood around him, but it only brought him a feeling of euphoria. This was it… It was the end. Lance had lived a good life for the most part. Only the last few weeks had been awful. A nightmare.

As life was escaping him, he thought of his friends and family. They would be sad… But he was glad he had had so many good memories with them. And Keith… He wished things had been different. What would have happened if Lance hadn’t been broken beyond repair? Would they have fallen deeply in love? Would Keith and he have grown old together? Would they have married? And adopted children? Would they have lived by the sea, like Lance used to and always wished he would? Would they have stayed together until their hair became all white?

It would’ve been dreamy…

“Lance? Are you in there?” He heard a voice resound in the bathroom. “Lance!”

He heard it as if his head was underwater. Seconds later, he saw a shadow on top of him.

It didn’t matter who it was, there was no more life in him now.

Lance slowly closed his eyes, letting darkness taking over.

The torment and the pain were gone.

He was gone.

 

-

 

“Pidge! Call the ambulance!” Shiro yelled as he took Lance out of the shower and onto the floor.

The young girl did as she was told. It was Matt who had called them, saying he had seen Lance go towards the bathroom as he was luckily walking in another hallway close by. The two of them had come as soon as they could.

Shiro barely heard Pidge make the call, his attention almost entirely focused on the young dying man before him. Lance was cold and unresponsive. Shiro took his vitals quickly and cursed at his weak pulse. He didn’t have much time left and he was still bleeding a lot from the deep cuts on his forearms. So, Shiro took off his Garrison jacket and his shirt underneath. The Garrison Jacket was too thick to be of use, but his shirt would do the trick. So, he tore his shirt into strips and quickly wrapped them tight around Lance’s wrists, trying to stop the blood flow.

“They are coming, Shiro. And I called Keith and Hunk too…” Pidge said with a small scared voice.

Shiro cursed under his breath. He would have preferred if she hadn’t called them too.

“Thanks, Pidge, can you go outside now and make sure that no other students enter the bathroom?” He asked her.

She was too young to witness such things.

“I-I…” was her only answer.

Shiro looked at her and realized that she was completely in shock. Her big fearful eyes were fixed on Lance.

“Pidge, look at me,” he told her loudly.

Thankfully, she obeyed.

“It’s gonna be alright, I’ll do anything I can for him, but I need you to go outside now,” Shiro told her.

She nodded and left slowly, still in shock. He was left alone only a few long minutes before he heard someone barge into the bathroom. He knew who it was right away.

“Lance? No… No no no!” Keith screamed as he ran to Lance’s side.

He put his already bloody hands on each side of Lance’s face. Shiro had never seen such desperation or such pain in his mentee’s eyes.

“Lance? Can you hear me? I’m right there, I’m right there,” Keith told the unconscious boy lying on the ground, panicking.

“Keith…” Shiro started but stopped when he noticed the sudden stillness of the boy on the ground.

He cursed and checked the boy’s pulse again. Nothing.

“No!” Keith’s broken scream resonated in the bathroom. “Please stay with me! I’ll always be there for you, I promise, just… don’t leave me, please,” Keith pleaded, tears streaming down his face, Hunk was there a few seconds later, hugging Keith as he also cried his eyes out.

Shiro began to do CPR right away, knowing that it was the best way to still give Lance a chance until the paramedics arrived even if he had already lost too much blood.

30 compressions.

2 ventilations.

Still no response.

30 compressions.

2 ventilations.

Nothing.

30 compressions.

2 ventilations.

“Please, save him Shiro,” Keith pleaded.

“Come on, buddy,” Hunk said to Lance, voice heavy.

30 compressions.

“Please, step aside, we’re here to help,” a woman said then.

Shiro lifted his eyes to the paramedic standing next to him and did as requested. Help was finally here. They quickly checked his vitals, noting right away that Lance was in cardiac arrest. They quickly put him on a gurney, continuing Shiro’s compressions.

“Please come with us, Mister, we will have some questions for you,” the woman asked as she secured Lance on the gurney.

“S-sure,” he answered and followed them right away as they made their way out.

He didn’t like the idea of leaving Keith behind in such a situation, and he had questions he wanted to ask him, especially regarding Keith’s bloodied hands, but for Lance’s sake he had to follow the paramedics.

They had to bring Lance back to life.

Many people cared for him.

He was needed.

 

-

 

The school was in a chaotic state. Iverson, Stevens and Lance were sent to the hospital in the next town. Keith, Hunk and Pidge had to be interrogated by police officers. None of them was really exhaustive in their answers. Their minds were elsewhere. They wanted to know how Lance was. They still hadn’t had any news from Shiro in 2 hours. He could be dead for all they knew…

He was when they last saw him.

Keith told the police about the recording, giving them the cellphone, and the deleted video. He told them he had attacked the two men. That they had threatened him and touched him without his consent earlier that day and in the past. He knew that Lance would have preferred if he kept it all a secret, but Iverson and Stevens needed to pay for what they had done to him even more than Keith had taken the liberty to do himself.

Once the police finally let them all out, they all saw they had missed calls. Hunk and Pidge had some from their parents and Keith from Shiro. They all looked at each other.

“Lance…” Pidge said, voice small and fearful.

They all nodded and Keith dialed Shiro’s number.

 

-

 

“We’re here,” Keith told Shiro over the phone as he entered the hospital, Hunk and Pidge in tow.

“I see you, come to the back of the ER waiting room,” Shiro told him.

Keith hung up and the trio made their way there. Shiro hugged Keith right as they reached each other and the other two joined in after a second. They were all emotional and scared. Shiro was their support, being the less close to Lance, but this whole situation still affected him.

“Come on now, follow me,” Shiro told them with a sad look.

He guided them through the hallways until they reached a quiet room. They entered, all scared.

When Keith saw Lance in the hospital bed, medical equipment surrounding him, an oxygen mask on his face, and… and the sound of his beating heart on a monitor near his bed, he couldn’t hold himself back.

“Lance…” he sobbed as he reached the bed and stroked the Cuban boy’s hair back.  

Lance opened his eyes slowly.

“Keith…” he murmured, visibly still dazed.

Lance’s features started changing then, showing distress.

“You’ll be fine, everything will be fine, OK? I’ll never leave you, I promise…” Keith told him.

Lance smiled softly, but his eyes were still sad and tears fell down his eyes.

“Why?” Lance sobbed.

“Because I need you,” Keith replied.

“I can’t…” Lance started.

“Iverson and Stevens… I made them pay for what they did to you and I reported them to the police. They won’t hurt you or anybody else anymore,” Keith said then. “You don’t have to fear them anymore. You’re safe now.”

Lance looked at him, unsure. “D-did they show you…?”

Keith nodded with a sad sorry expression. He caressed Lance’s cheek tenderly. Lance looked even more troubled.

“I’m so sorry,” Keith finally told him as he broke down in tears again. “I would understand if you don’t wanna see me anymore. Iverson… He said that he wanted to punish me, and he did so by hurting you, and I’ll never be able to forgive myself for that.”

Lance took Keith’s hand that was on his bed. He didn’t have the energy to move much, but he could at least do this much to get the other’s attention. “Hey, it’s not your fault,” Lance told him with a deep tenderness in his eyes.

“Still…” Keith started.

“No ‘still’… Iverson was a monster. He hurt us both,” Lance said. “That’s why you’re crying right now.”

“I almost lost you completely because of him,” Keith added, trying vainly to wipe his tears.

“You didn’t,” Lance said.

“Please, don’t do that to us again, buddy,” Hunk told him as he cried at the end of the bed.

“We love you, Lance,” Pidge added as she hugged him on the other side of the bed.

“We’ll always be there for you, Lance,” Shiro added.

“Thank you, guys. It means a lot to me,” he replied.

Lance looked at his friends, feeling their support, and wondered if there really was still hope.

He was far from being healed physically and mentally.

He also knew it would be a long difficult process.

But he felt good and safe right now.

Surrounded by his friends.

 

-

 

**[A Few Months Later]**

A scream tore through Lance’s throat. He shot up, fear taking a hold of his body. His heart was beating fast and it seemed like he couldn’t get air into his lungs.

“Lance! Lance, calm down, you’re safe,” a sweet worried voice told him.

It made Lance feel better right away. It was Keith. Lance knew he was fine then. Keith’s presence, voice and touch were the definition of safe. Keith welcomed him into his arm, comforting his boyfriend the best he could. Lance had terrible nightmares since what happened with Iverson. Keith could understand why.

“It was just a nightmare,” Keith murmured into his ear, rubbing his back and rocking them.

Lance was shaking, but at least he didn’t cry anymore. Even if there were still nights when he woke up screaming, they were less and less frequent. He was safe, and Keith swore to himself that he would stay by Lance’s side and protect him as long as he lived. Lance’s familly had brought the Cuban boy back home until things died down a bit, Lance felt better and the trials were done. Lance had asked Keith to come with him for the first few weeks at least. Of course, Keith had agreed and went with him. His family was really welcoming. At first, he had to sleep on a spare bed in a room near Lance’s, but Lance either couldn’t sleep alone anymore or had terrible nightmares, even with the numerous medications he was given to reduce his anxiety and help him sleep.

The first night, Keith and his parents had ran to Lance’s room and helped him fall back asleep. But Lance had woken up a few hours later again, screaming his voice raw. Keith had came back to Lance’s room, helping him fall asleep again. Lance’s parents came too, but they went back to their room as soon as Keith had assured them he would take care of him.

Keith felt asleep and Lance only woke up with a start almost 5 hours later. Since then, Lance and Keith always slept together. Keith was anxious at first that physical contact might trigger bad memories to Lance, but the other boy seemed to be craving Keith’s reassuring presence and his gentle touch.

Lance’s mind had associated Keith with safety.

Hunk and Pidge were also really supportive. When the new school year began and Lance was finally readmitted at the Garrison, Hunk had let Keith be Lance’s new roommate.

Keith looked at the clock.

“Hey… I have an idea,” he said then.

Lance looked at him, curious. Keith only smiled and stood up, dragging Lance out of the room with him. They walked silently through the hallways of the Garrison, and Lance quickly caught onto Keith’s idea.

They reached the Garrison’s roof and sat on the edge like they had done months ago. They were just in time to see the sunrise, a beautiful orange colour spreading on the horizon almost endlessly.

“It’s beautiful… peaceful,” Lance told Keith, relaxing against the other boy.

Lance was always silent for a while when he had nightmares, only saying Keith’s name or small simple words sometimes. He usually got back to his hold self after that though, and Keith couldn’t help but like his goofball of a boyfriend this way, happy, talkative and bright.

Keith looked away, a deep blush spreading on his face.

“You remember a few months ago, when you brought me here one night after training, before everything that happened with Iverson? Well… That’s when I realized I had feelings for you,” Keith admitted.

There was silence for a moment and Keith dared to glance at Lance. The other boy was looking at him, surprised, Keith wasn’t really good with words or romance or anything regarding relationships in general, but for Lance he would put in an effort.

“You were all passionate and… and it was like there were more stars in your eyes than there were in the sky,” Keith admitted.

He knew these words would help Lance take his mind away from his troubled thoughts and the terror of his nightmares.

“I love you,” Lance breathed then.

Keith looked up at him. It was the first time either of them had said the words.

It wasn’t like they didn’t want to say them, it’s just that they were scared, and they were waiting for things to calm down. With all that had happened, they had agreed that they were together, always swearing to be there for the other and always caring for them no matter what. They had had to go through many trials, explain multiple times what had happened to them, claim self-defence…

Iverson was now blind and had been found guilty of sexual assault, rape and attempted rape on many students during the past years. Lance hadn’t been the only one that Iverson had touched. Stevens wouldn’t be able to use his dick anymore and was found guilty of complicity and rape as well. After that, the whole school system had been reformed and the Garrison had to put safe measures in place regarding the employment and supervision of the staff.

Lance had had his bursary ensured by the upper authorities of the Garrison, and help was also offered to him without anything hindering his studies anymore once he came back to the Garrison. Nothing would stop him from making his dreams a reality.

They took it one day at a time, fighting every anxiety attack, chasing every nightmare and flashbacks away, taking care of each other with all their hearts, enjoying every smile, every laugh…

Giving to other all their love.

“I love you too, Sharpshooter,” Keith replied and kissed the boy tenderly.

The sun rose on the horizon, lighting them both in a comforting warmth.

Someday, they would both become pilots.

They would see the stars together.

Travel far away from this planet.

Leaving the nightmares behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Please leave kudos and comments! :) 
> 
> You can also follow me/send me an ask or a pm on Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


	14. SAD ENDING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Here's the Sad Ending. Some parts are really similar to the other endings, because even if the outcome is different some aspects, thoughts or actions stay the same. 
> 
> Honestly, I was really excited to write it (because I love angst so much), but I'm in a really bad place mentally right now so it was difficult for me to reread it. 
> 
> Thank you for reading this fic until the end! I'll probably add two more endings later on. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mention of suicide, and some mildly explicit content
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments :)
> 
> Thanks!!

 

Stevens passed by during lunch. He had poured half a bucket of cold water on him, roughly scrubbed his skin and hair with a brush and soap and poured the rest of the water on him to rinse him. Lance let him do his things without reacting much. Stevens had also brought clean student clothes to Lance and had freed his ankle when the boy was clean and Stevens was ready to head out. Lance had remained unmoving, lying naked and cold on his side, staring unfocused at the ground as Stevens talked, his words not registering in Lance’s brain. After Stevens finally left, he stood up, dressed up and went back slowly to his room. He didn’t meet anyone on the way there, Lunch was already done and the teachers and students were probably all in class already.

Once he reached his room, he went to his study desk and took white papers on which he started writing. He wrote letters to the people he loved, nothing about the pain and horrors he had experienced. These were… farewell letters. He told his loved ones that he was sorry, that he thought it was better this way. He cried, but he couldn’t feel fear or possible regret. The future scared him too much and he felt like he would surely feel pain again. He didn’t want to suffer anymore. He wanted peace, he wanted to stop the nightmare that his life had become.

When the letters were done, Lance left his room and went to the roof of the Garrison, it was one of his few safe places now and he wanted to spend his last moments there. He got there just before the ring announced the end of the third period, so he didn’t meet anyone on the way there. There also seemed to be a commotion in the teachers’ hallway, so that took the attention of the few who were not in class at this hour.

He didn’t know what happened there, but he preferred to stay away. This place at the Garrison was filled with reminders of his first real-life nightmares.

When he finally arrived on the roof, he walked to the edge of it, looking at the horizon… The sun would not set before at least 2 or 3 hours. He wanted to see the stars one last time, but could he really wait until then?

Now, Lance had only one thing left to do.

He called Keith.

“Lance? Where are you? We need to talk,” Keith said, weirdly emotive.

Lance couldn’t contain the last bit of emotions that suddenly filled his heart then. He really wanted to talk to him at least one last time. In another reality, maybe they would have been happy together, even just as friends.

“Hey, Mullet,” Lance said with a heavy voice. It was the first time in days he had spoken. “We haven’t talked in a while,” he added, vainly trying to sound normal.

“Lance, please, tell me where you are,” Keith requested, sounding really worried.

“Don’t worry about me, Keith. Everything will be fine,” Lance told him, but his voice wavered and a flow of tears spilled out of his eyes.

“Lance, we’ll get through this, I promise, just let me help…” Keith insisted.

He sounded so desperate and Lance felt guilty, because he knew he was the cause of his torment. Keith didn’t deserve all this drama. Lance wished he could’ve made Keith happy. He wanted the other boy to feel loved and safe and have fun. He wanted to be his support, his partner in crimes, his happy ever after…

But everything was messed up now. Lance didn’t believe in happy endings anymore.

“It’s Ok, Keith. I’m already gone,” Lance told him, his tears stopping suddenly and his voice more peaceful.

It was true. Lance felt like he wasn’t himself anymore. He had felt this way since Iverson forced himself inside him.

“Please…” Keith pleaded.

“Goodbye, Keith,” Lance said with a voice full of love. He hung up without waiting for an answer.

After that, Lance sat down on the edge of the roof. From this height, there was no way he was going to survive. Good…

He dropped his cellphone first. There was no need to keep it anymore and he didn’t want anything interfering with his last moments. He didn’t know when he would jump, he just enjoyed the tranquility and loneliness that surrounded him in that moment.

He was at peace with his choice and ready to embrace death and jump any minute now.

Maybe he would do it before traumatic memories came flooding back.

Maybe he would wait to see the stars one last time.

No matter what, he would end his life today.

 

—

 

“Shit!” Keith screamed in fear and hopelessness. “W-we have to find Lance,” he told Hunk as he dialled Lance’s phone number again and again with no answer.

A huge knot of profound terror and anxiety settled inside him, making it hard to breathe. He needed to find Lance. He needed to save him, to make things better, to hold him in his arms and tell him that everything would be alright, that he was safe now.

But what if it was already too late?

“I’ll call Pidge!” Hunk announced.

Keith started moving, not waiting for Hunk to end his call. He called Shiro as he made his way through the school as the other students walked to their classes and sent him concerned looks. He didn’t care. He knew he was covered in blood and probably looked panicked, but all he had in mind was to get to Lance before it was too late.

“Keith? Where are you? Are you Ok?” Shiro asked, sounding worried.

“No, I’m not Ok, Shiro… Lance… I think Lance is going to kill himself and I can’t find him. I need you,” Keith told him as he entered the showers.

“Ok, I’ll try to find him. I’m already at school. But tell me… Is it you who attacked Stevens and Iverson?” Shiro asked, concerned.

The last of the students were leaving the showers to get to their classes, leaving the room empty.

“They… They had a video, Shiro. They raped him and filmed it to show it to me. I-I couldn’t stop myself…” Keith was starting to panic again at the memory.

“Calm down, Keith, it’s gonna be Ok. We’ll deal with this later. Now, we need to find Lance,” Shiro told him.

“Yeah, you’re right, Shiro. Call me if you find him,” Keith said.

Shiro agreed and hung up. Keith searched every little corner of the room, calling Lance’s name, but he wasn’t there. He made his way through the now empty hallways of the school again.

The ring announcing the start of the fourth period resounded in the Garrison, a reminder that time was running fast and that he still hadn’t found Lance.

Keith’s cellphone rung then. Seeing Hunk’s number, his heart skipped a beat in fear. Did Hunk find him? He was scared of the news he would get.

“Hey, buddy, Lance isn’t in his room, but… But I found things, Keith,” he told him, voice shaky.

“What things?” Keith asked, anxious.

“Lance left farewell letters to his friends and family, they were on his desk. This freaks the hell out of me, but… But the worst is what I found in his wardrobe. There was a bag with clothes in it, and they had a lot of blood in it. The blood is dry, but… This is terrible, Keith. You were right, and I… I…” Hunk cried over the phone, panicked.

“Hunk, I know it’s hard, but we gotta keep looking for Lance. I need your help. I already searched the showers and the training rooms. I still haven’t found him,” Keith told him, glad that Shiro’s word had helped him focus more on the importance of finding Lance, because he wouldn’t have been able to get Hunk to focus too.

“O-Ok… Pidge and her brother are searching the hallways and unused classes. I’ll go check the cafeteria and the kitchen,” Hunk announced, sounding calmer and determined.

“Alright, then I’ll go look in the basement. This is where…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, bile rising up his throat at the memories of the video and recording Iverson and Stevens had showed him.

“Ok, call me if you find him,” Hunk said.

Keith agreed and hung up. He ran to the stairs and then down to the basement. As soon as he arrived there, an awful smell filled his nose. It smelled of vomit, feces, urine and sweat, but also other disgusting odours. There was a sweet metallic smell too…

Awful images flashed into his mind. He remembered Lance’s terrible state, the men’s cum on him, soiling his perfect skin, and the blood on his tights and on the ground…

He couldn’t hold it in anymore. He threw up on the ground. As soon as the nausea died down a bit, he started moving again. He was scared. A part of him wanted to find Lance there, alive or holding onto life enough so he could save him, but another part of him was terrified of what he would find there if Lance was still in this basement. Iverson and Stevens had said that they had let him go, so it was more possible that Lance wasn’t there anymore, but what if he was? What if he hadn’t moved from there since then? Or decided to get back there to end his life, and Keith was too late to save him?

He couldn’t let these fears hold him back though. Lance needed him. So, he opened the doors one at a time, calling Lance’s name, getting no answer in response. Finally, he opened the last door. The room was empty, but Keith could still see the remains of the horrors that had taken place there. Only a spot in the back seemed clean. They had probably washed Lance there before letting him go.

Keith cursed loudly, knowing that he had lost time searching here while Lance was suffering elsewhere.

Keith looked at his watch. It was already 3:45 pm. Where did Lance go? He walked back upstairs, and continued to search, even as the hallways filled with students again when the classes ended. He moved around, trying to avoid being spotted by the cops that were walking through the school, searching for the culprit of the earlier attack against the two teachers. Keith looked in every corner of the Garrison, every unused room, every closet…

He was so scared, every minute that passed made him lose hope more and more, and it hurt. It hurt so much.

It was weird how much he cared about Lance and how much he felt responsible for his pain. They had been friends for a few weeks only, not even a month, and they were just starting to date. Still, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Lance was one of the rare people he had let himself get close to. He was beautiful, and funny, even if he was super annoying sometimes. Keith had been falling in love with Lance with every minute they spent together, with every touch, and every word, even the mean ones… He wanted to protect him, to make him smile and laugh again. He wanted to dream of travelling in space together and spend his life with him too. It was crazy right?

Yeah, but that was how his love for Lance made him feel like.

“Keith!” Pidge called from the end of a hallway.

Keith stopped walking to wait for the young girl to join him.

“What is it? Have you found him?” Keith asked.

She looked sad and sorry.

“No… Not yet. Hunk just called me. We’re regrouping back to their room, Shiro’s decision,” Pidge told him.

Keith blanked for a long moment. He felt betrayed and hurt.

“You’re giving up on him…” he breathed.

“Keith, it’s not like that… We have been searching for hours now, and we still haven’t found him. We’ve searched everywhere at least twice. We need more info and…” Pidge explained, but Keith wasn’t listening to her.

“I-I can’t stop searching, I have to find him,” Keith replied.

“I know, but…” Pidge tried.

He started to walk away.

“Stop, Keith… Lance is…” She grabbed his wrist, trying to stop him, but he tugged on it. “Lance is probably dead already!” She yelled then, voice breaking and tears streaming down her cheeks.

He stopped walking and turned to her. She was so sad, it hurt to watch. He cared about her too. He didn’t want to see her in such a state, but her words hurt him even more. It was as if he had been stabbed so deep it cut his soul in half.

He remained silent, his mind and body unable to react.

He wanted to scream at her, to tell her that she was wrong, but she was hurting as much as him, he knew it.

“Lance is like a brother to me, he…” She started, a small sob making her stop a moment. “He would join me on the roof some nights when I hid there because I didn’t feel well,” she finished, but then her features strangely lit up with realization.

Keith understood then. They knew where Lance was!

 

-

 

Lance stood up as the sun was setting on the horizon. It was beautiful, as always, painting the whole scenery in gorgeous colours. He had been waiting there for hours, his mind wandering to his most precious memories. Not a thought crossed his mind that made him waver in his decision, but he was still glad to be able to have some untroubled time before this all ended.

He took a deep breath, feeling the air filling his lungs deeply, and let it out shakily. 

It was almost time.

 

-

 

Pidge and Keith ran, completely ignoring the teachers yelling not to run in the hallways, or the cops that noticed them and started to run after them. The secret passage would prevent their unwanted followers to pursue them all the way to the roof.

Once they got there, a beautiful sunset greeted them, and a silhouette stood on the edge of the roof. Pidge and Keith’s hearts filled with hope. Their eyes adjusted quickly and they saw Lance turn to face them. He didn’t look surprised or sad. He had a small smile on his lips.

“Lance…” Keith started, walking towards him.

“Don’t come near me…” Lance cut him taking a step back.

Keith’s heart dropped at that. Lance was so close to the edge. If Keith or Pidge moved recklessly, it could push Lance to jump before they could even try to reason with him. 

“Lance, please, don’t,” Pidge pleaded. “What about our video game nights? And didn’t you want to do a spa night too someday with Hunk, Keith and I?”

“It’s alright Pidge, you can still do video game nights with Keith and Hunk,” Lance replied.

“No! It won’t be the same without you!” She screamed, tears streaming down her face again.

“I’m sorry Pidge… I’m not the same anymore, they… broke me,” Lance tried to explain. “It’s better this way.”

“How can you know? We don’t care if you’re ‘broken’ or whatever, we still don’t wanna lose you! We love you, Lance…” Keith started. “I love you…” he breathed, his voice small and desperate.

“I love you too,” Lance cried, tears starting to flow out of his eyes and voice wavering. 

“I can’t lose you, Lance… Just let me help you! We can figure this out together, OK?” Keith pleaded.

“It’s too late.” Lance answered. “I’m sorry.”

Everything seemed to happen into slow motion. Lance lifted his arms on each side of his body and smiled at them one last time. Keith felt his legs move, his arms extending towards Lance desperately.

“NO!“ He screamed hopelessly.

He ran as Lance’s body fell backwards. Keith didn’t care about his own safety anymore. All he wanted was to get to Lance, to reach him and grab him somehow, to be close to him again...

But suddenly, just as he was reaching where Lance had been standing a few seconds ago, he was stopped, there were arms around his torso stopping him from going farther and maybe jumping to his death too. He fell to the ground as his legs gave out under him. He looked down and saw Pidge holding onto him with all the fear and grief that filled her body in that moment. He was out of breath, his chest was tight and so _so_ painful. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as his mind tried to process what had just happened. He looked back down at Pidge still hugging him tightly. He finally hugged her back and let out an agonizing scream.

Lance...

 

—

 

Lance saw Keith and Pidge realize what he was about to do. The terror in their eyes hurt him, but he had made his decision. And then he saw the sky. It was so beautiful. He didn’t get to see the stars one last time, but dying during a sunset was good too. It was kind of poetic too.

This was it… It was the end. Lance had lived a good life for the most part. Only the last few weeks had been awful. A nightmare.

As he was falling to his death, he thought of his friends and family. They would be sad… But he was glad he had had so many good memories with them. Some passed quickly through his mind. When his older brother taught him how to swim; when he had brought back a huge seashell from the beach to give his mother for her birthday; when he had met Hunk, his best friend; when him and his other siblings would all meet at their parent’s home for the holidays; when he would join Pidge on the roof of the Garrison sometimes to watch the stars and talk about their families…

He also thought of Keith… He wished things had been different. What would have happened if Lance hadn’t been broken beyond repair? Would they have fallen deeply in love? Would Keith and he have grown old together? Would they have married? And adopted children? Would they have lived by the sea, like Lance used to and always wished he would? Would they have stayed together until their hair became all white?

It would’ve been dreamy...

Lance slowly closed his eyes, letting darkness taking over.

He didn’t even feel it when he hit the ground.

The torment and the pain were gone.

Lance didn’t feel anything anymore.

His nightmare had finally ended.

Just like his life…

 

—

 

**[Months Later]**

 

Keith woke up screaming. Shiro was there in seconds, holding him.

“It’s Ok, Keith. I’m here,” Shiro murmured.

“Shiro... I want the nightmares to stop. I want Lance…” Keith sobbed.

Shiro didn’t answer, only continued to cuddle Keith, rubbing reassuring circles on his back.

It had been months. Months of nightmares, of sadness, of hate, of battles against monsters, psychologically and in real life… Finally, Iverson and Stevens had been condemned for their crimes, but it wouldn’t bring Lance back.

Lance was dead.

The first few months, Keith didn’t sleep well, barely ate, overworked himself, in school or in training. He still did so, but it was less intense now. He was still in a bad place mentally. It was all because of Iverson and Stevens… and also because of Lance. Keith couldn’t help but blame Lance too. Not for everything that had happened, but for leaving him, for not accepting his help...

For leaving Keith with such a big hole in his heart and soul.

He should have stayed… Keith would’ve done everything to make him love life again.

But what was done was done. He should just move on now, right? Except, he couldn’t. Every single night for a whole month, he had relived his last conversation with Lance. He woke up either screaming his voice raw or having a panic attack. After a few days, Shiro was given the authorization to let Keith stay with him until it got better. It took a long time, and still Keith woke up at least 2 nights a week in an awful state, needing Shiro’s support. His mentor, or more like his big brother now, was really understanding and never looked annoyed by him. Keith was glad to have such a great person in his life. Pidge and Hunk were still his friends, they also struggled a lot. Especially Hunk. The poor guy had to stay in the room he previously shared with Lance until the school year ended. Hunk had admitted at some point that he hated waking up every morning to the empty bed beside him. That he hated not to see Lance’s family pictures on his study desk and on the walls anymore. That he hated thinking of his best friend all the time, but remembering afterwards that he had let awful things happen to him, causing him to take his own life.

Hunk had the purest heart, but he blamed Keith and Pidge a lot, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

Pidge and Keith had been the last ones to talk to Lance, they should’ve been able to change his mind, right?

Yet, they hadn’t.

The trio had seen Lance’s family cry at his funerals. They had seen them cry at court. They had seen them cry as they emptied Lance’s part of the room he shared with Hunk. They blamed themselves too, for letting him go to the Garrison, for not talking to him enough, for not even having a small idea of the horrors Lance had gone through.

It all felt so much like a terrible never-ending nightmare, similar to the ones in which you can’t move or you feel like you can’t breathe, and you can only stare as monsters, voices and terrifying images swallow you, no matter how much you scream for it all to end.

It was hard to live like this, for everyone. And the letters didn’t really help. He basically thanked every loved one for the awesome life he had had before it had all gone to hell. Keith hated that he had come into Lance’s life so late. He wished he had been there during the good part of Lance’s life. Maybe things would’ve been different…

Keith’s letter was the longest. It was… It was heartbreaking. Lance was apologizing most of it for different things, like how he had been so mean to him when he didn’t deserve it, and how he would’ve liked to be able to give him all his love, but didn’t even know if he would’ve been able to enjoy another man’s touch again. Lance also explained what things had made him fall for Keith. It was cute, they were simple things, sometimes even naming his flaws. And the letter ended with him explaining exhaustively how he would’ve seen their life together.

This was the worst, because Keith would’ve wanted their life together to resemble that so much. It was really cheesy, and really optimistic, but it was beautiful. It was dreamy.

In his letter to Keith, Lance had told him that he would find love again, but Keith couldn’t even hope for it. It felt like his heart had died with Lance.

But it would get better, right?

Yes, it would. But it would never be the same. None of the people Lance left behind would ever be able to forget how they had lost this bright cheerful Cuban boy in such a horrifying way.

“Thanks, Shiro. I’m good now, I think,” Keith said, feeling calmer now.

Shiro moved back and looked at Keith with a sad smile. “Alright then, I’ll let you get prepared for school. Don’t be late this time,” Shiro told him.

Keith smirked at Shiro’s comment. It wasn’t his fault if the mentor’s area was so far away from the classes. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked at the bright blue sky outside. He grabbed the necklace around his neck, something that Lance’s mom had made for Lance’s close family and friends. The pendant, all different styles, contained a little amount of Lance’s ashes. No matter how much his feelings for Lance were strong, he had thought that it was a bit macabre at first. But then, Lance’s mother had told Hunk, Pidge and him something that reached his heart in a way he never expected to feel after Lance’s death.

“Bring him to the stars,” she had told them, voice heavy and hopeful.

Keith’s main goal was now to fulfill his late lover’s dream.

Someday, the trio would go in space together.

All bringing a part of Lance with them.

And travel far away from this planet.

Leaving the nightmares behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much again for reading this fic :)  
> PLease leave kudos and comments!
> 
> You can also follow me/send me asks or messages on Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


	15. THE SADDEST ENDING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> What would've happened if Keith had found Lance in the basement before Iverson and Stevens did anything to him down there yet...
> 
> I finally did it! This is the saddest ending I planned for this fic. I know it has been a long time, but my duties as an adult and other fics took most of my time. Anyway, this is a really intense ending, but I hope you'll like it! 
> 
> Btw, I wanted to do a Happy Ending for Keith finding Lance in the basement, but I might never write it, because I don't have the interest to write it anymore (I have other fic projects on the way that I'm more into at the moment).
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, Non-con, murder.
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Thanks!!

“Keith!” A student of his year yelled as Keith was walking to the exit of the school to meet with Hunk, Pidge and Shiro to go to the nearest hospital to visit Lance.

Keith turned around acknowledging the guy. He didn’t remember his name but he seemed to have something important to say to him.

“Hum… I heard you were looking for Lance,” the guy said, sounding out of breath.

Keith felt his whole body respond to the sound of his lover’s name.

“I’ve been looking around for you all morning. Listen, I know it might sound weird, but I saw him the yesterday. Don’t tell anyone, but I spent the night in the girls’ dorms with my girlfriend and I had to come back early, like before there were too many people in the hallways. Anyway, I saw him with Iverson and Stevens. He looked really bad… There was blood on his neck. Maybe he hurt himself, I don’t know…”

“Stevens already told us he had a concussion and that he was sent to the hospital,” Keith told him.

“Ok, yeah, but… but why did they bring him downstairs first?” The guy asked, confused.

“What?” Keith asked, his attention fully back to the guy in front of him.

“I saw them go downstairs, in the basement. That’s what’s super weird,” the guy pointed out.

Keith’s brain was running wild. He knew... He knew why they would have brought him down there.

“Thanks for the information,” Keith said numbly before he sprinted away into the hallways, going straight to the stairs.

A deep fear settled in his stomach.

Could Lance still be down there?

Did they keep him there?

He had to save him.

 

-

 

It had been about a day. The Cuban boy still didn’t know what Iverson and Stevens planned on doing to him, and it terrified him. As soon as they had left, Lance had let himself fall on the ground. He had cried for a long time.

He was scared and miserable. He should have done something, talked to his friends, got real help… He was so angry at himself for not doing so. And no matter the men’s reassurances that they would let him go at some point, Lance knew there would be nothing left of him once he was let out of the basement.

But now he also knew that he couldn’t just give up. Maybe he would die down there, or go through so many terrible things he would never be the same again, but once they had broken him completely, they would seek out another victim. Lance might not live through this, but he decided he would fight and still try to make it out and ensure no one else would go through the same hell as him.

So, he tried to get free from the cuff around his left ankle. After a few long minutes, he realized that there really was no giving in, the cuffs were really solid and Lance was weak. He looked around him, trying to find a way to get out of here. The only thing in this room was the pole in the middle of it. Otherwise, it was completely empty. Lance cursed and yelled in rage.

There had to be a way out. There had to…

“Help! Somebody! Please help!” He screamed desperately for what felt like the hundredth time.

He really thought only silence would answer him again, but he heard the most beautiful sound instead.

“Lance?! Lance!” It was Keith’s voice.

He couldn’t hold in the tears that fell from his eyes and the sob that shook his body.

“Keith!” He screamed back, falling on his belly in an attempt to get closer to the door.

Keith crashed into the room, is expression full of anguish… but also hope. When he saw Lance on the ground, he dropped down on his knees and cradled him in his arms. Lance put a hand on his cheek and their eyes met.

“You found me…” Lance sobbed with a big tearful smile.

“Oh my God, Lance… I’m going to get you out of here,” Keith replied, looking at the cuff around Lance’s ankle, visibly too shocked to be mindful of the nakedness of the other teenager.

But then, Lance saw a dark shadow appearing behind Keith. He didn’t even have time to react or say anything, and a mass connected heavily with Keith’s head. The other boy fell to the ground unmoving and Lance let out a horrified scream.

“Shit… He found him,” Iverson said.

“What do we do now?” Stevens asked.

“No… Keith?! Keith! Don’t do anything to him, please! I’ll do anything!” Lance tried desperatly, but was ignored by the two men.

“We can’t let him go, that’s for sure, and we’re in big trouble now. Takashi Shirogane himself has his back,” Iverson explained, his voice full of hate and anger.

Stevens cursed loudly behind.

“Do we kill him?” Stevens offered.

“We’ll probably have to…” Iverson answered. “Him too… He was broken, probably would’ve killed himself after our little fun, but now he might report us to the police if we let him go.”

This was really not a nightmare anymore, this was worst, it was hell.

“Ok, then let’s have some fun with the both of them and then we kill them and we’ll take care of their bodies afterwards, like we did with that other kid 2 years ago,” Stevens offered.

Iverson smiled at that as Lance’s whole body and mind shut down completely. He couldn’t do anything as Keith was also stripped and cuffed to the pole in the centre of the room. He couldn’t move, couldn’t watch, couldn’t react, couldn’t even think… He felt sick and terrified.

And then Stevens and Iverson took off their clothes as well.

Lance extended his arm to Keith. His fingers brushed Keith’s before he was yanked back up by his hair.

“No, bad boy, he’s our toy, not yours,” Stevens said in his ear.

“P-please… Let us go,” Lance pleaded. “We won’t say anything, I swear.”

Iverson came in front of him then. “We’re not taking any chance, Lance.”

Iverson’s eyes traveled up and down his body and a satisfied smile appeared on the older man’s lips. Lance was hiding his genitals with his hands.

Iverson threw something at Stevens who caught it behind Lance. “Make him beautiful for our guest.”

Then, Lance was harshly pushed to the ground on his belly. Stevens grabbed his arms and tied them together. It made his back curve uncomfortably.

When Stevens seemed to be finished, Iverson came back with an object in his hand. It was dark and had the form of a dick with a huge protuberance towards the bottom of it followed by a round flat part. It was a butt plug. It was big and it scared Lance. It wouldn’t fit in him… It would tear him apart.

“No… Please don’t…” He pleaded vainly.

Iverson dropped down on top of him and forced the younger man’s legs apart, putting his hole on full display. Lance was fighting weakly and begging him not to do this, but Iverson’s moans only showed that it aggravated the situation. Lance braced himself for the worse.

Iverson slowly pushed the toy in, and Lance screamed his voice raw as he tried futilely to get away. Every centimetre of the butt plug made it hurt even more, and Lance felt his hole stretch in ways it wasn’t supposed to until he felt it tear up inside and blood escaped it.

Lance sobbed in defeat and pain for a few long seconds. He whined in fear as Stevens came back with another leather bondage tool. The older man put a gag in Lance’s mouth and secured it behind his head. The gag had a ring that stretched Lance’s mouth widely.

He cried and drooled shamefully.

Iverson and Stevens stood over him for a long moment, enjoying the view.

Beside him, he saw Keith stir up from unconsciousness.

No.

He didn’t want Keith to see him like this, but Iverson had other plans. Keith looked confused as his eyes fluttered open.

“Hey there, Keith. We have a surprise for you,” Iverson said, taking Lance by his hair and dragging him closer to the other teenager.

Keith’s eyes widened in horror as he saw Lance’s state. He tried to stand up but stumbled back down because of the cuff and visible dizziness. His eyes landed on the cuff, then his naked body and met Lance’s in the end.

Lance felt so much guilt. It was his fault Keith was here with him…

“Isn’t he beautiful like this? Dominated and exposed just for us,” Iverson said to Keith. “Now let’s see what his mouth can handle.”

“L-let him go!” Keith stuttered in panic, but it was too late.

Before Lance had time to prepare himself, Iverson’s dick was pushed deep in his mouth. The older man moaned in pleasure and moved back and forth in his mouth, going so deep Lance almost chocked on every stroke down his throat.

Lance heard every plea from Keith. It made his heart ache even more than his body. While Iverson was playing with Lance, Stevens was strapping Keith’s arms behind his back like Lance’s to prevent him from interfering.

It lasted a few long minutes before Iverson finally came in his mouth and face.

Stevens’ dick was shoved in his mouth right after. Stevens didn’t move away when he came though, he maintained Lance’s head in place and came deep in Lance’s throat. The younger man was forced to swallow. Stevens removed the gag after a moment.

“You did well, Lance. This mouth of yours was wonderful to fuck…” Stevens said as he caressed Lance’s wet lips with his thumb. Lance moved away, and Stevens only smiled in answer.

Lance looked to the ground as tears fell down his cheeks again. He couldn’t meet Keith’s eyes anymore. “P-please…”

“Continue to beg, Lance, this as just begun,” Iverson said as he came behind Lance.

“N-no… just… Please, stop!” he pleaded as he felt Iverson’s cruel fingers on his ass again.

“Leave him alone!” Keith screamed in rage and torment trying vainly to fight against the bondage tools around his arms.

Suddenly, the plug was taken out of Lance’s ass. Lance chocked a sob at the awful feeling. It burned, but he was also glad that this atrocious object wasn’t inside him anymore. This small relief didn’t last as Iverson’s pushed himself inside him.

“No!” Keith yelled in despair.

“This time, I’ll make you come Lance,” he murmured in Lance’s ear in between moans, one of his hand snaking to the younger man’s throat to hold him in place and the other to Lance’s half-hard dick to stimulate him.

“I can’t be left out of this,” Stevens said then, impatient.

Lance’s hole was stretched further as the two men forced their dicks in him at the same time. He screamed in agony. This surpassed the plug or anything he had felt so far.

This time, Lance looked to Keith. He was way past what he thought he could handle, but, if he really was going to die after this, he wanted to have something to ground him until the end.

Even in this horrible situation, with Keith’s face distorted by pure sadness and helplessness, he was still beautiful.

For a moment, he thought he would be able to get lost in Keith’s gorgeous purple eyes, but his chaotic hurting body made it impossible.

When the two men finally came inside him, to his horror, Lance came as well. For a moment, he felt deeply disgusted with himself, horrified by the fact that he had been raped repetitively and that he had even came from it… The pain, the revulsion, the panic, the profound despair… These overwhelming emotions could’ve destroyed him, but Keith was looking at him with such torment that it reminded him that he wasn’t alone, that someone else at least knew of his hell, but still clearly wanted him to live and fight for as long as he could.

Yes, he felt like he wasn’t just broken anymore. He felt like his soul… His whole person…Nothing of him could be repaired anymore.

But he realized, looking at Keith, that there was something left in him that had not been broken yet, and would probably never break...

His love for his friends and his family.

His love for Keith…

“K-keith… I’m sorry… I love you,” Lance told him.

“I love you too, Lance. I love you so much,” Keith replied.

Tears fell down his eyes again. Iverson and Stevens left him on the ground.

“Oh, how cute, I knew Keith cared about you a lot, but I didn’t know you two were a thing already,” Iverson said.

His voice brought chills down Lance’s spine.

“Shut up,” Keith growled.

Iverson dropped down in front of Keith with an amused smile, forced him to lie on his back and covered the younger man’s mouth with his hand as he tried to fight against Iverson’s manipulations.

“You have so much anger inside you. You really didn’t have any luck in life. Your mother left you when you were only a baby, your father, a fireman, died in duty when you were still a kid, then you were passed around from foster home to foster home, you were a ‘troubled child’, got into fights all the time, until about two years ago when you were finally placed under the care of the Garrison with Takashi Shirogane’s recommendation, then you almost screwed this up when you didn’t give in to my demands and took one of my eye… But the best part is really what happened in the last few weeks. You made some friends, even dated someone, probably thought your luck had finally turned, right?” Iverson laughed. “But, while all that was happening, I raped your lover multiple times, made him my own personal fuck toy. And you knew something was up, but you couldn’t do anything. And now look at him, broken and messy on the ground, and now you, naked and restrained, ready for us to take like we did with him.”

“Shut up! Don’t touch him!” Lance yelled in rage then as he tried to get up, surprising everyone.

Stevens pushed him back down. Iverson smiled widely and turned back to Keith. Lance watched in horror as Iverson prepared himself and entered Keith in a fast movement. He heard the other teenager’s muffled screams under Iverson’s hand.

It was agony to watch the boy he loved go through the same hell.

He wished he could do something, he wished he could save him. He wished he had never called for help, never befriended Keith, never tried to go out with Hunk that night a few weeks ago… never went to the Garrison at all.

Things would have been better for Keith and himself if none of that had happened. They would’ve been strangers, maybe would’ve never met, but at least they would not have ended in this horrible situation, they would’ve probably been happy, living their lives normally…

Iverson moaned loudly as he came inside Keith. He slipped out of him and left him a crying mess on the ground.

“I’m sorry…” Lance sobbed.

Stevens took Iverson’s place, not blocking Keith’s screams when he moved inside him. He was pushing even harder, trying to get the worst sound out of him. Lance thought he would be sick, he had to move his eyes away, but he had no way to cover his ears.

And after too long, the terrible sounds stopped and Stevens moved away. Lance looked back to Keith. The other boy was panting, crying and looked in pain.

“I’m so sorry, Keith, I…” Lance repeated.

“Don’t…” Keith cut him.

Lance’s heart skipped a beat. He was scared. Maybe Keith hated him now…

“If it weren’t from me…” Lance started again.

“Lance… Stop. It’s not your fault, ok?” Keith replied. “They are the monsters.”

Lance nodded and cried in answer.

“We gotta move now,” Iverson said then as the two men were putting their clothes back on.

“Alright, I’ll kill Lance, you do Keith,” Stevens said.

It was like something heavy had crushed Lance completely then. Their time had come, they were going to be killed and there was nothing they could do about it.

Iverson moved to Keith, a syringe in his hand. Keith tried to move away, visibly panicked, but there was nothing much he could do, restrained as he was. Iverson pinned him in place soon enough. Stevens did the same with Lance, but the Cuban could only care for Keith’s safety, as he desperately tried to reach him, to save him from being murdered by Iverson.

“No no no… Please, don’t do this don’t kill him,” he tried.

Keith’s teary fearful eyes turned to Lance. They widened in horror and Lance felt the needle of Stevens’ syringe pierce his skin.

“Lance! No!” Keith yelled in pure terror.

And then the sounds and the colours surrounding Lance mixed up in a tornado of sensations, overwhelming and scary. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even react in the chaos of it all. He felt so many things at once, it was all too much… It was too much… It was too much! He tried to scream, but nothing came out, and then it all stopped.

There was nothing painful anymore.

No more sensations or feelings.

There was only peace.

He was gone.

 

-

 

Keith saw it when Lance’s life ended. He saw him stop moving, and the light die down in his eyes.

He felt it too. How it was so much darker around him in an instant. How his heart broke and his soul hurt. How his mind was filled with panic and deep sadness.

No horror could equal this.

Being raped was nothing compared to losing Lance, to seeing him die before his eyes as he was completely hopeless to prevent it.

But the pain and emotional distress he was in wouldn’t last long. Soon, Iverson would take his life too. In these last few seconds, Keith couldn’t stop thinking of Lance. He wished he could’ve saved him. He had been useless, he had even probably made things worse…

But, at least, Lance didn’t die alone.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, Lance,” he murmured, voice wet and shaky.

Keith felt the needle on his neck.

He let a few last tears fall.

“I love you.”

 

-

 

Iverson and Stevens were taken out of the Garrison by police officers. There were TV news reporters all over the place. Pidge and Hunk had a quiet place of choice on top of the Garrison’s roof.

It was Shiro who had found Lance and Keith.

As they were looking for Keith, Shiro had met a kid who had told him the same thing he had told Keith. He had called the police and gone down to the basement right away, only to find Iverson and Stevens there with Lance and Keith’s dead bodies.

They looked like they were cleaning up their crime scene. Keith and Lance’s naked bodies’ were attached by the ankle to a pole in the middle of the room.

Shiro had gone crazy and almost killed the men. The police had arrived just in time to stop him.

Pidge and Hunk had heard the whole explanation as they were also questioned by the police. In the end, the police let the two traumatised teenagers go.

Shiro had to go with them though, for further investigation.

Hunk sniffled loudly beside Pidge.

“P-please, Pidge, tell me this is a nightmare…” He pleaded.

“It’s not,” Pidge answered, sorrowful.

“What will we do without them?” Hunk asked. “Lance was my best friend…”

“We’ll.. We’ll have to live with it, I guess,” Pidge broke down, crying even louder than Hunk now.

Hunk hugged her and they cried a long time.

The pain of losing their friends in such a Horrifying way brought them many sleepless nights and psychological traumas. They never recovered, never came to befriend anyone as much as they did with Keith and Lance. Nobody wanted to be friends with them anymore anyway, they were too scared to say something or do something and trigger a bad memory. Going through their school years was awful. The halls reminded them too much of their lost friends.

Shiro was there for them the best he could. He was the new director of the school. It had taken a few long months before he was able to go back to the Garrison. Rumours said that he had PTSD now, because of the dead bodies and untold horrors he might have witnessed down in the basement. Cameras were installed all around school. There was no way that another student would suffer like Keith and Lance had.

Iverson and Stevens were condemned for their crimes. They were given the worst judgement the penal system could give them. They found out during the investigation that there had been many victims, and that they had killed another student two years ago as well.

Still, Pidge felt like it wasn’t enough, like they deserved worse, but she couldn’t do anything really. No vengeance would bring back her friends. In the end, they couldn’t save anybody. It all felt like a too real nightmare.

But there was something she could do to bring some kind of closure to it all.

Lance’s mother, with Keith’s legal guardians’ authorization, mixed their ashes in small pendant that she gave to Pidge, Hunk and Shiro.

“Bring them to the stars,” she told them with tears in her eyes.

So, that’s what they were all aiming for now.

They were going to go into space.

For their lost friends.

 

~ THE END ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this ending!   
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> You can also follow me/send me asks on Tumblr: Prettygoo-d


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